Mount St. Mary’s started slow and couldn’t recover Friday night, taking a 80-59 loss in the season-opener at Marquette. Senior guard Junior Robinson paced the Mount (0-1) with 20 points and six assists in 35 minutes.
Robinson’s 20-point effort was 13th 20-point game of his career. Freshman Donald Carey pitched in 11 points and three assists in 29 minutes of action while Greg Alexander had nine points and four rebounds in 36 minutes off the bench. Redshirt freshman Jonah Antonio (team-high 37 minutes) pitched in with eight points, five rebounds and three steals in his Mount debut.
Andrew Rowsey powered Marquette (1-0) with 23 points and five assists. Haanif Cheatham and Sacar Anim each had 13 for the Golden Eagles.
Marquette started the game with an 8-0 run before Alexander hit a 3-pointer to get the Mount on the board. A Robinson putback cut the deficit to 13-7, but Marquette stretched the lead to 26-14 midway through the half.
The Mount, behind 3-pointers from Carey and Antonio, cut the deficit to 26-20 with under-nine remaining in the first half. Marquette put its foot on the gas with a 22-7 run for a 21-point lead at the half.
Mount St. Mary’s shot 45.1 percent from the floor (23-for-51) while Marquette shot 50.9 percent (29-for-57). The Mount made 7 of 28 3-point attempts and Marquette made 6 of its 21 tries from deep (28.6 percent). Marquette got to the free throw line 21 times, and made 16 (76.2 percent), while the Mount went 6-for-11 at the stripe (54.5 percent).
Marquette, which scored 40 points in the paint, out-rebounded the Mount, 35-24, including 10 offensive boards that led to 11 second-chance points. The Mount committed 16 turnovers in comparison to Marquette’s 11.
Mount St. Mary’s travels to No. 14 Notre Dame on Monday, Nov.13, with a 7 p.m. tip-off. This will be the third all-time meeting between the Mount and the Fighting Irish.
