Field Level Media
Dec 28, 2019
Markus Howard scored 25 of his 30 points in the first half as Marquette made easy work of its last game before the start of Big East Conference play with a 106-54 victory Saturday over visiting Central Arkansas.
Howard's fifth-highest scoring game of the season came against the school his brother Jordan attended from 2015-18. The Howards are the highest-scoring brother duo in NCAA history, passing Stephen and Seth Curry on Dec. 20 when Markus scored 32 against North Dakota State.
Theo John scored 12 points as the Golden Eagles (10-2) now will prepare to face Creighton on the road Wednesday to open Big East play.
Rylan Bergersen scored 10 points for Central Arkansas (3-10), which saw its two-game winning streak end. Both victories for the Bears came at the start of Southland Conference play. Central Arkansas will return to Southland competition on Thursday against Houston Baptist.
Howard was 9 of 13 from the field and 5 of 7 from 3-point range as he led the Golden Eagles to a 57-24 halftime lead. Howard's first-half point total alone was enough to outscore Central Arkansas in the half.
Marquette was 15 of 28 (53.6 percent) from the field in the first half and 8 of 14 (57.1 percent) from 3-point range. The Golden Eagles finished 54.7 percent from the field in the game and 50.0 percent from long distance.
Sacar Anim and Ed Morrow scored 11 points each for Marquette, while Brendan Bailey grabbed 12 rebounds despite missing much of the second half because of a knee contusion.
Central Arkansas struggled to match up with a more physical opponent as Hayden Koval, Jared Chatham and Aaron Weidenaar all fouled out. Marquette had a 46-36 rebounding advantage and held the Bears to 31.1 percent shooting from the field. Central Arkansas had 20 turnovers to 12 for Marquette.
The Golden Eagles, who averaged 76.4 points entering the contest, topped their season high for a game, while reaching 100 points for the second time this season.
--Field Level Media