Defense Stands Strong as #MUBB Rolls over Little Rock

MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Marquette University men's basketball team (3-1, 0-0 BIG EAST) stormed over Little Rock (1-1, 0-0 OVC), 89-49, Wednesday evening at Fiserv Forum.

Senior guard Chase Ross led the Golden Eagles, posting 16 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field. Freshman Nigel James Jr. tallied 13 on a career-high five made baskets, while sophomore Royce Parham tallied 12 points and Ben Gold added 11 points and nine rebounds.

The Golden Eagles got off to a slow start, trailing 14-20 through the first ten. Led by Ross's seven points, the Golden Eagles found their rhythm midway through the period, sparked by a pair of Ross buckets and transition plays from James Jr. and Parham. Marquette tore through the final ten minutes of the first, going on a 32-9 run to end the half up 46-29.

Marquette held Little Rock scoreless for seven straight minutes to start the second half, building a 35-point lead to open the final 20 minutes of play. Junior Tre Norman scored seven points in the second half alone, including a corner three and a driving layup, while sophomore Joshua Clark added a dunk in transition. Marquette's defense forced 10 second-half turnovers and held Little Rock to under 30 percent shooting after the break, closing out a balanced and emphatic 40-point victory over Little Rock.

NOTABLES

Junior guard Sean Jones (shoulder) missed Wednesday's contest and will be re-evaluated later in the week
Nigel James Jr. earned his first-career start, and is just the second freshman to start in the Shaka Smart era, the first since Kam Jones in the 2021-22 season
MU allowed the fewest points in a game (49) since allowing the same in a 81-49 win over Howard on 11/14/2016
Nigel James Jr. recorded a career-high five field goals
Chase Ross has scored 10+ points in four-straight games, the longest stretch of his career
Caedin Hamilton tied his career-high with five rebounds
Tre Norman tied his career high with nine points
After grabbing eight-or-more rebounds three times in his first 170 career games, Ben Gold has now reached at least that total in each of the first four games
Freshman Braeden Brenn scored his first collegiate points with a layup in the final minute