Howell Central in Control From Start to Finish

In what will probably be remembered as one of the most lifeless Mustang efforts in years, Howell Central won at home 57-41.

The Spartans, coming off a stinging 20+ point defeat to Troy last week, took the initiative early on.  In the first five possessions, Central had already grabbed four offensive rebounds (they ended the night with a 27-15 advantage in the statistical category).  Four misses in five tries had left Marquette in an 8-2 hole at that point.  By the time Tom Ahlborn hit on back-to-back jumpers and a couple of free throws, Howell Central led it 11-8 at the end of one.

The bottom of this contest dropped out for MHS in the second quarter.  Three turnovers against token Spartan pressure to go along with 2/8 shooting in the period did more than spell offensive woe for Marquette, it led to deficiencies in the rest of the visitors' game.  Time and time again, the Spartans were able to race out ahead of the slow-transitioning Mustangs for easy looks and also on a continual basis Marquette simply lost track of either the ball or their man resulting in Central buckets.  The last ten possessions of the quarter saw the Mustangs convert on only one shot and a single free throw.  By the time Central had wrestled away another offensive board and scored at the buzzer, the two teams were riding vastly different waves with HC out-scoring Marquette in the quarter 18-5 for a 29-13 half-time lead. 

A slightly better performance in the third quarter saw Marquette cut the lead to 12 at 36-24.  And, when Chad Haley was able to hit on a jumper early in the fourth, the Spartan lead had been cut to 10.  Consecutive trips down the floor gave the Mustangs opportunities to cut the lead to single-digits, but tough play around the bucket would not go the visitors' way.  Central hit on key three-pointers down the stretch to keep MHS at bay and cruise to the easy 16-point victory.

Up next for the Mustangs is a home date with Francis Howell on Friday, January 26 (7pm).

Leading Scorers:  Tom Ahlborn-13, Karlos Washington-10, Andy Rosburg-9.  Leading Rebounders:  Rosburg-8. 

For complete stats-click HERE

Posted by: marquettemustangs

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