There was plenty to be thankful for Marquette men’s basketball Wednesday night.
For starters, it could’ve been thankful for forward David Joplin putting up 27 points on an ever-efficient 10-of-12 shooting. It could’ve been thankful for first-year forward Damarius Owens looking like a seasoned veteran in his first extended run with the Golden Eagles. Or, it could’ve been thankful for it’s back-to-back Big East player of the week scoring the most effortless 14 points ones eyes will ever see.
Head coach Shaka Smart focused on the bigger picture though.
“Well, we’re at Marquette,” Smart said. “This is the place to be. With Thanksgiving tomorrow, we’re grateful to be at Marquette. We’re grateful to get a chance to put on the Marquette uniform.”
Any way you want to slice it, there was plenty of thanks to go around Wednesday evening as Marquette (7-0) took down Stonehill (4-5) 94-59 behind a season-high 60.7 field goal percentage.
The Golden Eagles led 51-31 lead after 20 minutes of play thanks to 20 first half points from Joplin. After a slow offensive start to the season for the forward out of Milwaukee, Joplin has detonated offensively over the course of the last four days, scoring 56 points in two games.
“He’s just playing with more maturity,” Smart said. “He’s acting with more maturity, I liked his posture. I like the look on his face, he’s playing to win.
“He’s internalizing our game theme, he’s internalizing our defensive priorities. Those things make you a leader on a team like ours. Those things make you someone that steps to the forefront of what we’re trying to do.”
It’s safe to say the Brookfield Central product left no meat on the bone this Thanksgiving.
After somewhat of a back-and-forth first 10 minutes inside of what was a sleepy Fiserv Forum, Owens came into the game and lit a spark for Marquette.
The first-year found Caedin Hamilton for a layup to extend the Golden Eagles’ lead to 21-13 with 10:30 to play. The following three possessions would all end the same way for Marquette on the offensive end: a Damarius Owens trey.
“It’s unfortunate, he’s missed a lot of time earlier in the year with injury, and so, you know, this is the type of game that you love to see him have in the first game, but he didn’t play in the first game,” Smart said. “So it’s just good to have him out there.
“He just does a lot of things really well, he’s got length, he can handle the ball, he can pass the ball, shoot the ball, he can finish, he had a couple finishes I’d like for him to get back tonight, but his future is incredibly bright.”
Owens — who finished the game with a career-high 14 points — did some more bucket-getting in the second half. This time though, it was from the inside.
He drove the ball several times right into the teeth of the Skyhawk defense, coming away with a couple finishes that drew applause from those who did make the trip down for the Thanksgiving eve clash.
Have a night D Mar 😤#MUBB | #WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/GtE2CJfLnb
— Marquette Basketball (@MarquetteMBB) November 28, 2024
Kam Jones was his usual efficient-self, scoring 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting. He dished out a trio of assists and grabbed two boards.
The Golden Eagles were once again everywhere and anywhere on defense, tallying 37 deflections. They also snagged 11 steals and two blocks.
“Was really excited to see our young guys get in the game, play extended minutes, and you know, help us extend the lead late in the game,” Smart said. “That was important for us.”
Marquette has now held it’s opponents to under 70 points in every game except one. It’s defense ranks 10th in the country on KenPom.
Speaking of high-level defenses, the Golden Eagles now have just one game — Saturday against Western Carolina — remaining until their most anticipated game the non-con against Iowa State, whose defense currently ranks 14th.
This story was written by Matthew Baltz. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @MatthewBaltzMU.
