Big Third Quarter Propels Mustangs

With a week off to digest the first game of the season, Marquette looked to tonight's opening round game of the National City-Webster Classic against Fort Zumwalt West as a chance to iron out some of the first game difficulties they had encountered.  Mission accomplished to some extent as the Mustangs rode an outstanding third quarter effort to a 57-44 victory over the Jaguars.

Senior guard Chad Haley opened the proceedings for his team with a deep trey from the right wing.  This was followed by three turnovers and three misses in what was starting to look like another start-and-go evening reminiscient of the season-opener vs Howell Central.  Haley again stepped up though to pull his team out of is doldrums.  Another long three put his squad up 6-2 and the men in Navy and Kelly never looked back as far as the lead went.  After two more turnovers (the Mustangs committed five in the opening minutes but didn't commit their tenth until well into the fourth period), Eric Phillips connected from the mid-baseline area.  At that point, forward Andy Rosburg began to assert himself.  The 6-7 senior scored the next eight Mustang points heading into the second period including a buzzer-beating three-point play in close to the bucket under pressure to give his team a 14-7 lead at the break. 

After two offensive boards and six missed shots, Rosburg connected again and was quickly followed up by two more Haley bombs to raise the lead to double-figures midway through the second quarter.  Steady play led to a Ky McKeon bucket off a tough offensive carom garnered by Will Jones and a nifty pass to McKeon.  Rosburg again beat the horn heading into the locker room with a basket for his ninth and tenth points of the contest thus far and the Mustangs led it 26-18 at halftime. 

The third period was Marquette's best by far on the young season.  In their first eight trips down the floor, MHS found Rosburg open for four makes (including another three-point play), a Haley jumper and a Phillips three-pointer.  Senior Will Jones made his presence felt in the quarter with three rebounds all leading to scores for his team.  By the time guard D'Angelo Wood had hit on a three and a hanging reverse lay-in, Marquette had extended the eight-point halftime lead to 23 going up 50-27.

D'Angelo followed yet ANOTHER Rosburg three-point play with a carbon-copy lay-in under pressure and by the time senior Taylor Lehman had converted on a couple of free throws, the Mustang lead was pushing thirty.  By the time the dust had settled, Marquette had gone to 2-0 on the season with the aforementioned 57-44 margin.  The inside-outside duo of Roburg and Haley was a real factor in the contest.  Chad hit on 4/6 from beyond the arc while Andy put up an impressive line in the box score of 26 points (10/16 from the field, 7/9 from the line), 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks.  Also, D'Angelo Wood started to show he was shrugging off the effects of a late-season football injury by scoring seven on 3/4 shooting to go along with six board and a couple of assists and steals.

There's no time for rest or celebration though as Marquette gears itself for the feature game of the tournament thus far.  In prime-time Friday night (December 7), the Mustangs will take on the always-powerful and host Statesmen of Webster Groves in a 7pm contest to determine one entrant into the championship round on Saturday.

Leading Scorers:  Andy Rosburg-26, Chad Haley-14, D'Angelo Wood-7.  Leading Rebounders:  Rosburg-10, Wood-6, Will Jones-5.  Leading Assists:  Rosburg-4, Haley-3.  HARD HAT AWARD WINNER:  Chad Haley.

For a complete box score, click HERE

Posted by: marquettemustangs

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