Joplin powers No. 18 Marquette past George Mason

MILWAUKEE (AP) — David Joplin had 27 points and 10 rebounds as No. 18 Marquette pulled away down the stretch to beat George Mason 82-63 on Friday night in front of a festive, all-student crowd.

The game had a tense moment in the final minute as Marquette's Ben Gold drove to the basket and got fouled hard by Woody Newton. It appeared Newton's elbow hit Gold in the face.

Players from both teams exchanged words and shoves. Newton and Marquette's Kam Jones both received technical fouls, with Newton's fifth foul knocking him out of the game.

Jones had 24 points and eight assists for Marquette (2-0). Darius Maddox scored 20 for George Mason (1-1).

The game took place on Marquette's campus in the 3,700-seat Al McGuire Center rather than at its usual home, the Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee that seats more than 17,000. The crowd consisted entirely of students.

Marquette fed off the students’ energy to take a 13-0 lead in the first 2½ minutes, but George Mason clawed its way back. Marquette trailed by five early in the second half, missed 14 straight shots and didn’t really gain separation until the final few minutes.

Takeaways

George Mason: The Patriots will have to take better care of the ball. They had 19 turnovers against Marquette. Through the first two games, George Mason has totaled 36 turnovers and 25 assists.

Marquette: Outscored George Mason 16-2 over the last 4 1/2 minutes.

Key moment

Marquette took the lead for good at 52-51 when Chase Ross converted a steal into a dunk with 12:25 left.

Key stats

Marquette had 13 steals and a 22-8 edge in points off turnovers.

Up next

George Mason hosts Stony Brook, while Marquette hosts Central Michigan on Monday.

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