SIU-Edwardsville vs. Marquette final score: Golden Eagles wrap up nonconference play with victory

For the second straight season, the Marquette Golden Eagles will head into Big East play with at least nine victories. The Golden Eagles (9-3) hammered the Southern Illinois-Edwardsville Cougars, 89-56 at the Bradley Center Wednesday night to wrap up nonconference play.

The Golden Eagles were led by Haanif Cheatham, who had 19 points on an incredibly efficient 8-10 shooting. It was a team effort for Marquette, as Cheatham was just one of five Golden Eagles to reach double-figures in scoring. Duane Wilson and Sam Hauser each had 11, Jajuan Johnson had 14, and Luke Fischer had 15.

Marquette forced 22 SIU-E turnovers, and scored a whopping 31 points off said turnovers. SIU-E had a 31-29 rebounding edge, though. Clearly it didn’t affect the final score, but Marquette is going to have an uphill climb all year when it comes to grabbing rebounds, since their only true bigs are Fischer and Matt Heldt (who fouled out Wednesday night).

Jalen Henry led the Cougars with 14 points.

The Golden Eagles took care of business twice this week, expectedly so. They’ll open Big East play December 28 by welcoming the Georgetown Hoyas to the Bradley Center.