Marquette (5-0) added their fifth win of the year after defeating West Virginia (3-1) in the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic.
Marquette started the game off slow, playing from behind nearly the entire first half. The Golden Eagles were down 12 points by the end of the first half. The momentum started to shift when Marquette started shooting lights out in the second half going on a 13-0 run. Marquette knocked down nine threes alone in the second half. They were able to cut the deficit to four points after a corner three point shot by Kolek.
A few keys plays were when senior forward Kur Kuath made an athletic cut to the basket resulting in a dunk with 13:51 remaining in the second half. After that, redshirt freshman Justin Lewis made a three point jump that gave Marquette the lead 55-54. That was their first lead since 12:10 in the first half.
From that moment on, Marquette led the game and finished with an 11 point victory. The Golden Eagles did a tremendous job scoring the basketball, shooting 52.6 percent from the field. Marquette also shot the ball 46.2 percent from beyond the arc, making 12 three point shots.
Redshirt freshman Tyler Kolek led the team in scoring with 18 points. Kolek also recorded eight assists and five rebounds. Kolek was able to get to the lane on numerous occasions and was fantastic at distributing. Justin Lewis ended with 17 points along with recording five rebounds and four assists.
Recognition is starting to pour in for this Marquette team, as coach Shaka Smart has now led the team to a perfect 5-0 start. This also marks their third power conference win after previously defeating No. 8 Illinois and Ole Miss.
Smart and Marquette will look to continue their success in the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic championship game versus No. 22 St. Bonaventure.
The championship game is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 21st. Tipoff is set for 6:30 CT.
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