Marquette junior transfer Koby McEwen asserted himself quickly in his first game in blue & gold, recording 14 points, seven assists and six rebounds as MU easily dispatched Division III St. Norbert, 85-51, in an exhibition game Tuesday night at Fiserv Forum.
McEwen, the 2016-17 Mountain West Freshman of the Year at Utah State, quickly shook off any rust from a rule-dictated redshirt season after switching to Marquette in 2018. He spent over 27 minutes on the floor, the most of any player in the contest, and looked ready to give senior and BIG EAST Player of the Year candidate Markus Howard, who scored 12 points, a chance to play in more of a true shooting guard role.
Junior Ed Morrow scored eight of his 10 points and grabbed seven of his nine rebounds to help Marquette recover from a slow start and take a 35-22 lead into halftime. Sophomore Brendan Bailey then scored 11 of his game-high 15 points in the second half as Marquette pulled away.
The win was overshadowed by news that Jayce Johnson, a 7-foot Marquette graduate transfer from Utah, was unable to play in the exhibition after suffering a sprained knee in practice. Coach Steve Wojciechowski says there is no definitive timetable for his return and described Johnson as “week-to-week.”
Marquette opens regular season play at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5 against Loyola University Maryland at Fiserv Forum and will be televised on Fox College Sports.