Marquette Defeats George Mason at Students-Only Game on Campus

Marquette, coming off of an opening night win over Stony Brook, returned to the court Friday night for their second matchup of the season. The Golden Eagles would move away from their usual home venue of Fiserv Forum and shift the action over to the Marquette campus, where they would host a unique students-only game at the Al Mcguire Center against visiting George Mason. 

The Patriots were welcomed by a white-out crowd of ruckus students, and after playing well enough to lead at the half, were eventually salted away behind a strong second half from Marquette. 

The intimate campus setting favored Marquette early, as they opened up the game with a 13-0 run. Baskets from four of the five starters, including two from behind the arc, put George Mason on their heels into the first timeout. The Patriots would counter, however, outscoring Marquette 37-23 over the remainder of the half. Where George Mason went hot, Marquette went cold, combining to shoot just 28% in the session. The Patriots took a 37-36 lead into the break. 

Marquette would set things right in the second half, doing what they do best, making the opponent uncomfortable on offense. Pressure on the ball, contested shots, and turnovers set the tone for a big second half. Marquette improved their shooting from the field, but outside of senior Kam Jones, they still underperformed as a team as they struggled to find the bottom of the basket Friday night. The pressure was too much for George Mason, and the Golden Eagles cruised to an 82-63 win to improve to 2-0 on the young season. 

Shot volume benefited David Joplin, who led all Marquette scorers with 27 points, including a game-high five three-pointers. Joplin would also add a team-high 10 rebounds to record his second career double-double. Kam Jones continued his efficient start to the season, going 9-14 from the field while adding 24 points. 

Knuckleball Prime Time Player of the Game

Next up: Marquette continues their non-conference homestand on Monday, November 11th, when they host Central Michigan at 8pm CST at Fiserv Forum.