Kirkwood Unable to Match Marquette Inside

In this matchup of former Suburban West Conference rivals, both teams were coming off of losses, but only one could right the ship with a win. On this night, that team was Marquette, which used its inside presence to wear down the Kirkwood Pioneers and coast to a 63-50 victory.

The entire game was a tale of two styles. Marquette (8-7) was intent to dump it inside and drive the lane, forcing the smaller frontcourt players from Kirkwood (8-7) into foul trouble. Kirkwood, on the other hand, tried to rely on its outside shooting, which was good in spurts, but was not enough to pull out a win on the road.

Kirkwood was led by junior guard and leading-scorer Myles Artis, who finished with 12 points. Marquette’s defense did a good job of not allowing Artis to get off many shots. He only attempted seven shots from the field. Also in double figures for the Pioneers was junior Ben Crancer who finished with 11 points.

Kirkwood came out of the gates shooting well from 3-point range, going 3-for-5 from behind the arc in the first four minutes of the game. The Pioneers led for most of the first quarter. It was then that Marquette started a 10-0 run which carried over from the first quarter into the second. The run gave the Mustangs a 24-15 lead and Kirkwood would never lead again.

Marquette coach Shane Matzen said that run was spurred on by his team protecting the basketball.

“The key to that run is that we had the ball in our hands. We went through a 19-possession stretch there where we only had three turnovers,” Matzen said.

Kirkwood made efforts to get back into the game, but could never get over the hump. Pioneers coach Bill Gunn of Kirkwood called for full-court pressure with about one minute left in the first half, and that seemed to rattle Marquette a bit. The Mustangs lead was cut to 34-28 at the half. Coach Gunn continued the pressure in the second half, and while it led to a couple of turnovers, it did not do enough to sustain a run for the Pioneers.

Kirkwood came out shooting well again in the second half, and that, coupled with the increased pressure, allowed the Pioneers to pull even with Marquette, 38-38, with 2:20 left in the third quarter. But just as in the first half, the Pioneers could not sustain their shooting and as the game wore on the bigger bodies of Marquette wore down the Pioneers.

The strongest player by far was Marquette Junior Ryan Rosburg. The Mustang guards were able to get him the ball at the elbow or the block with ease, and once he had it there he would simply back his defender down and finish with an easy layup or draw the foul. Rosburg also had an electrifying dunk in the first half that charged up the home crowd.

Rosburg’s toughness and size led to all three defenders who guarded him to foul out of the game in the fourth quarter. The Mustangs’ big man attempted 17 free throws, which was more than the entire Kirkwood team attempted. The Pioneers shot 13 free throws.

Coach Matzen was very happy for Rosburg after the game tonight, saying, “For him to get a chance to break out and have just a little bit of space to operate tonight … I know it was good for us to win, but I am happy for him because it has been frustrating for him with how much the defenses have been throwing at him.”

Marquette’s defense did an excellent job of not allowing the Pioneers to get shots inside. In fact, Kirkwood attempted almost as many 3-point shots (24) as they did two-point field goals (26), which led to 32 percent overall shooting.

Marquette, on the other hand, recognized that they had an advantage on the inside, and they used it. They shot 19-for-32 from inside the arc. Marquette’s Rosburg led all scorers with 21 points. He was joined in double figures by senior Lanard Williams with 11 points.

Next up for Kirkwood is a home game against Parkway West (5-7, 0-1) on Friday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. in a Suburban South tilt.