(MARQUETTE COMMUNICATIONS) – Marquette University men’s basketball team (23-11, 13-7 BIG EAST) opened play at the 2025 NCAA Tournament with a 75-66 loss vs. New Mexico (27-7, 17-3 MWC) on Friday night from Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Forward David Joplin led the way with 28 points and guard Kam Jones chipped in 13 points and five assists.
The Golden Eagles trailed by as many as eight points in the first half, but a layup by Jones as time expired set the score at 35-32 in favor of the Lobos at the intermission. Forwards Ben Gold and David Joplin both netted nine points in the opening 20 minutes, but were limited by foul trouble. Marquette trailed by just three points, despite shooting 37.0 percent from the floor.
Marquette opened the second half with a 19-13 run and moved ahead for the first time since the opening moments of the contest. The game remained a one-possession contest for the next several minutes until the Lobos used a 10-0 run to take a 67-58 advantage with just over three minutes left. The Golden Eagles had a chance to close to within on possession in the final minutes, but weren’t able to complete the comeback and New Mexico made its free throws to hold off the Golden Eagles.
Notables:
- The Golden Eagles and St. Mary’s College are the only two programs in the country to feature the same starting lineup all season
- Forward David Joplin, who hasn’t missed a game in his career, became the program’s all-time leader in games played (139), passing Lazar Hayward (138 – 2006-10)
- Marquette freshman Damarius Owens celebrated his 20th birthday on Friday
- Owens and fellow freshmen Royce Parham and Caedin Hamilton made their respective NCAA debuts on Friday
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