Youth Is Served Early at Marquette

MU opened its exhibition schedule last night with a 71-66 win over Michigan Tech. MU was led by its three freshman starters -- Dominic James, Wesley Matthews and Jerel McNeal. Oh my goodness, three freshman starters who all performed well.

Seniors Joe Chapman (benched) and Steve Novak (injured) joined likely starter Ousmane Barro (flu) on the sidelines for this one - - which may have contributed to Michigan Tech's advantage on the boards (40-37), and their stunning productivity from behind the arc -- 13 of 32 three-pointers, good for 40.6%.

Matthews led the team with 19 points, while James bucketed 15, and McNeal stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, seven boards, three assists, three steals and a couple of blocked shots. Redshirt sophomore Dan Fitzgerald delivered 10 points, including a clutch 4-4 from the stripe in the closing seconds.

Look for Ryan Amoroso to turn things around in MU's next tilt against UW-Whitewater. In 26 minutes of action last night, Amo was a mere 1-6 from the field with two rebounds.

Here is the MJS recap.

Here is the box score.

Here is the gomarquette recap.