Men’s Basketball Falls at Marquette in Season Opener

Wisconsin’s MILWAUKEE A 97-73 defeat to Marquette on Thursday night at the Al McGuire Center marked Central Michigan’s men’s basketball team’s season debut in 2022–23. On Sunday, November 13, Central Michigan will host Eastern Illinois in its inaugural home game. At McGuirk Arena, the game begins at 2:00 p.m.

In the game, Marquette made 13 3-pointers and shot 50.0 percent (35-66) from the field. The bench contributed 56 points for the host Golden Eagles.

Jesse Zarzuela, Brian Taylor, and Kevin Miller were the three Central Michigan players to score in double figures. Zarzuela finished the night with a team-high 17 points on 6-11 shooting and 4-7 3-point shooting while Taylor tied a career-high with 15 points on 6-8 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds. Miller chipped in with 14 points (5-9 shooting) and four assists despite being plagued by foul trouble the entire game. Ten rebounds were snatched by Nicholas Pavrette, a game and career best.

In the first half, the home team’s Golden Eagles shot a scorching 56.7 percent (17-30) and made five 3-pointers. David Joplin led Marquette with a game-high 23 points while making 6-10 3-pointers, and Prosper finished with 13 points. Ighodaro scored 10 points, Ben Gold and Chase Ross each finished with 11, Tyler Kolek handed out 11 assists while scoring eight points of his own.

Despite shooting 55.6 percent (15-27) in the second half for Central Michigan (1-0), they had 22 turnovers overall. Miller, who was selected for the preseason Second Team All-MAC, participated in just 22 minutes of the game before picking up his fourth foul with 15 minutes remaining.

In the closing seconds of the half, the Chippewas went on a 10-2 run. Central Michigan fought back before the break with a 5-0 run to reduce the deficit to 18 points at halftime. Taylor led CMU in scoring at the break with 10 points, followed by Zarzuela with eight points on two 3-pointers, and Pavrette with nine rebounds.

Against Marquette, Central Michigan lost, dropping to 0-2 overall.

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