Tyler Kolek scored 16 points and Kam Jones added 15 as the No. 3 Marquette Golden Eagles cruised to a 93-56 win over the visiting Southern Jaguars in Milwaukee on Tuesday.
Stevie Mitchell added a season-high 11 points while David Joplin and Ben Gold each dropped 10. Eleven Golden Eagles scored as they shot 49.2 percent.
Southern (1-6) was led by Jordan Johnson’s 21 points. It was a breakout performance for Johnson, who was averaging just 3.5 points and 11 minutes in six games prior to Tuesday.
Marquette slowly increased its lead throughout the first half, going into the break with a 52-36 advantage. Kolek and Jones were both in double figures, with 16 and 11 points, but Johnson was keeping Southern afloat with 20 of his 21 before the break.
The second half saw Marquette take the game and run with it, going on a 20-6 run to start the half and holding Southern to just 20 points throughout.
The key difference came primarily from the turnovers, as Marquette forced 22, scoring 38 points. The Golden Eagles had averaged 15.3 takeaways per game coming in, the most among Big East teams.
Kolek also hit a key milestone early in this one, scoring his 1,000th point. He is the sixth player in Marquette history to have 1,000 points and 500 assists. The first 238 points of Kolek’s career came while he was at George Mason.
Marquette improved to 14-2 against nonconference opponents at home since Shaka Smart took over as coach.
–Field Level Media