#MUBB claims season opener, 79-69, over Radford

Box Score (PDF)

MILWAUKEE - The Marquette University men's basketball team opened its 2022-23 campaign with a 79-69 victory over Radford on Monday evening at Fiserv Forum.

Forward Oso Ighodaro led the Golden Eagles (1-0) with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Stevie Mitchell and Kam Jones each reached double figures. MU shot 45.8 percent from the floor (27-of-59) and led by as many as 21 points late in the game.

Kenyon Giles led the Highlanders (0-1) with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Radford shot 41.3 percent (26-of-63) and just 20.0 percent from deep (5-of-25).

The Highlanders closed within six points, 75-69, with 46 seconds remaining on a DaQuan Smith 3-pointer, before a pair of free throws from both David Joplin and Tyler Kolek provided the final margin.

NOTABLE:

Monday's game marked the start of the program's 106th season of competition.
MU is 90-16 (.849) all-time in campaign lidlifters and has claimed 30 of their last 32 overall.
Marquette and Radford met for the first time Monday night.
Kam Jones reached double figures midway through the first half. Jones is the leading returning scorer on the MU roster after posting 7.4 points per game as a freshman in 2021-22. He scored double digits on seven occasions as a rookie.
MU true freshmen Sean Jones, Ben Gold and Chase Ross, alongside redshirt freshman Keeyan Itejere and graduate transfer Zach Wrightsil each made their NCAA debuts.
Itejere checked into the game with 6:15 remaining in regulation. The other four played minutes in each half.
Ross played 22 minutes and finished with seven points.
Ighodaro led MU in scoring for the third time in his career. The junior reached double figures six times last season and led the Golden Eagles in scoring twice with 14 points against Jackson State on Nov. 30, 2021 and 22 points against Creighton on New Year's Day.
MU point guard Tyler Kolek posted a game-high nine assists along with nine points and eight rebounds. Last season, Kolek topped the BIG EAST in assists-per-game (5.9) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4).
Radford is the alma mater of MU men's golf coach Steve Bailey (Class of 1998).
The Highlanders were picked to finish sixth in the Big South Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Marquette was selected to finish ninth in the league's preseason coaches' poll, the second-straight campaign the Golden Eagles have been slotted in that position.

UP NEXT: The Golden Eagles continue their season-opening homestand on Thursday, Nov. 10 against Central Michigan. The matchup against CMU will be played on campus at the Al McGuire Center and the 3,500-capacity arena will feature a crowd exclusively made up of Marquette students.

Keep up with the Marquette men's basketball program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteMBB) and Instagram (@marquette.basketball) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteMensBB). Fans interested in tickets can contact the Marquette Ticket Office online or at 414-288-GOMU (4668).