Marquette men’s basketball’s start against Little Rock on Wednesday likely unnerved a lot of people inside Fiserv Forum.
After 10 minutes, the Golden Eagles trailed 20-14 thanks to a 10-0 Trojans run capped off by a 3-pointer from Truman Claytor IV, prompting Marquette head coach Shaka Smart to call a quick timeout.
The 11-straight points the Golden Eagles scored out of the break, the 18-0 run at the start of the second half and the 89-49 final score unquestionably released any tension from the early going, though.
“I just told them we have to be better,” Smart said about his timeout message.
Unlike in its defensively concerning 100-77 defeat to Indiana, getting stops was not an issue for Marquette (3-1).
The Golden Eagles did not give up a point in the second half until the 13:01 mark, stretching the lead to over 30 points in the process. They had 13 steals (they had only three against the Hoosiers) on the night and forced 20 turnovers, 10 of which came in the final 20 minutes.
“I thought our guys, especially over the last 30 minutes of the game, showed genuine level that of care and concern for the things that go into getting stops,” Smart said.
First-year Adrien Stevens — who has repeatedly been likened to former Marquette defensive “pest” Stevie Mitchell — led the way with five steals, also scoring seven points on 2-for-5 shooting.
“It’s definitely a jump in level,” Stevens said about his first four games. “But I’ve been going against the guys in practice since May.
“We have high-level practices and the coaches are on us all the time. Coming in games is different, it’s definitely different, so I just got to keep going.”
After a 3-pointer from Claytor IV finally got the Trojans (1-1) on the board in the second half, they would score only 20 more points the remainder of the game. The blue & gold notched another 43.
“We just had to realize what was working, and when we found out what was working, we were able to go on that run after that,” senior forward Ben Gold said.
Marquette leading scorer Chase Ross kept his momentum going with 16 points, shooting 55% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. The senior guard also contributed a dunk, one heard all around college basketball.
🔨🔨🔨#MUBB | #WeAreMarquette https://t.co/FUIUuOlUp9 pic.twitter.com/2idSY0K2rL
— Marquette Basketball (@MarquetteMBB) November 13, 2025
“I didn’t expect it to be honest,” senior forward Ben Gold said.
“Looked like he took off from the Big East (logo in the lane). That was a ridiculous dunk, but I mean he’s just a freak athlete.”
In place of an injured Sean Jones (right shoulder), Nigel James Jr. made his first-career start as a Golden Eagle. He finished as the second-leading scorer with 13 points, shooting 6-for-10 overall and 1-for-2 from deep.
“He was nervous,” Smart said. “One thing about NJ is he really, really cares.
“He lives this. He doesn’t want to let people down. I just told him ‘Just do what you do.’ I give him a good, solid ‘B.’ He can be better. He’ll keep getting better. But he did a good job running our team.
Jones, who wore a sling on his right arm for the game, will be re-evaluated later this week.
“Kenny (Wilka), our trainer, is not fully sure how long he’ll be out. We’re hopeful it’s not too long,” Smart said. “The biggest thing is resting it for now. So we don’t really have a timetable exactly on when he will be back.”
While it may have been smooth sailing for Marquette from that 9th minute timeout, the Golden Eagles will have a tougher test Saturday against the Maryland Terrapins.
This article was written by Sofie Hanrahan. She can be reached @[email protected] or on X @SofieHanrahanMU.
