Justin Lewis looks to tally his fourth double-double of the season as Marquette hosts Northern Illinois on Saturday night in Milwaukee.
The forward has been outstanding in his second season with the Golden Eagles, averaging 17.7 points and 8.5 rebounds through six games.
Marquette (5-1) dropped its first game of the season on Sunday, falling 70-54 to then-No. 22 St. Bonaventure in the championship game of the Charleston Classic. Lewis had a team-high 17 points and 11 rebounds. David Joplin added 10 points off the bench, and Kur Kuath contributed nine points and five rebounds.
It was the first loss of the season for the Golden Eagles, who had won their first five games for the first time since the 2011-12 season despite returning just three scholarship players.
“We’re really young, but we’re ready to learn and we love playing with each other,” forward Oso Ighodaro said in an episode of #WhoWeAre on Marquette Athletics’ YouTube channel. “I think our biggest strength is our relationships on and off the floor. It really helps us in the game, and I feel like we trust each other and that’s going to continue to grow.”
Northern Illinois (1-4) is coming off a 67-60 loss against Little Rock and finds itself on a four-game losing streak. Kaleb Thornton scored in double figures for the first time this season, finishing with a game-high 15 points. Reserve Zool Kueth notched 12 points, and Trendon Hankerson tallied 10.
Hankerson is averaging 11.8 points per game and is the only Huskie with a double-digit scoring average. Keshawn Williams is trailing close behind with 9.4 per game, but has shot only 28.9 percent from the field.
The Huskies are shooting just 34 percent from the field and 34.9 percent from 3-point range. Despite the early struggles, first-year head coach Rashon Burno said his team is committed to the culture that he is trying to build at Northern Illinois.
“I’m pretty detail-oriented when it comes to what goes into winning,” Burno said during the team’s media day on Oct. 28. “The six guys that returned all bought in from day one. The seven new guys that came along with us throughout the course of the April period, those guys are bought in as well.”
–Field Level Media
