McNeal, James help #13 Marquette trounce Coppin State
Jerel McNeal and Dominic James each poured in 18 points, as #13 Marquette cruised to an 89-42 victory. The Golden Eagles used a dominant 22-0 run in the second half, and held the Eagles scores for more than seven minutes. Marquette notched their fifth straight win, running their record to 9-1.
Coppin State entered Friday night’s game struggling on offense, failing to score 40 points in their two previous games, and the defense Marquette played tonight didn’t help the problems Coppin State has encountered on offense, scoring 42 points on only 15 field goals and shooting 28 percent from the field. The loss puts Coppin State at 3-9 on the year, after starting the season 3-2.
Coppin State had problems taking care of the basketball and getting their best offensive weapon going. The Eagles turned the ball over 20 times, and were out-rebounded 36-22.
Tywain McGee entered the game averaging 17.1 points per game, but the trio of James, McNeal, and Wesley Matthews shackled McGee, holding him zero field goal attempts in 22 points. McGee finished with only two points, by way of the free throw line.
Very little went wrong tonight for Marquette. The Golden Eagles had four players in double figures. Their in-your-face pressure style defense took Coppin State out of their game, as they held the Eagles to only 18 second half points. Brian Chesnut led Coppin State with 13 points. The Eagles have lost seven in a row and remained winless on the road.
Marquette will be off until Saturday, Dec. 29th when they host Savannah State at 2 p.m.
Tags: Coppin State Eagles, Dominic James, Jerel McNeal, Marquette Golden Eagles, NCAA Men's basketball