Markus Howard scored 38 points to surpass Jerel McNeal as the all-time scoring leader in Marquette program history and lead the host Golden Eagles to a season-opening 88-53 victory against Loyola Maryland at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Tuesday night.

Howard racked up 30 points by halftime to tie McNeal with 1,985 career points, and set a new scoring standard on a 3-pointer with 19:07 remaining in the second half. A senior guard, Howard sizzled behind 9-for-17 shooting in the first 20 minutes, including 6-for-9 from long range.

In 25 minutes, he finished 11-for-20 from the field while draining seven of his 10 attempts from beyond the arc.

Theo John blocked a career-high eight shots and snagged a game-high eight rebounds for Marquette. Sacar Anim and Koby McEwen scored 11 points apiece.

Andrew Kostecka (16 points) and Isaiah Hart (13) both finished in double figures for the Greyhounds, who shot 20-for-65 (30.8 percent) compared to 30-for-58 (51.7 percent) for the Golden Eagles.

Marquette opened the game on a 21-0 run, as Howard propelled the surge with 19 points in a span of 6:11. Loyola Maryland finally got on the scoreboard on a Kenneth Jones trey at the 12:40 mark. The Greyhounds needed almost 14 minutes to reach double digits, but things hardly improved after a Kostecka layup drew the visitors to within 28-10.

The Golden Eagles responded with a 14-0 run while holding the Greyhounds scoreless for 5:19. Marquette led by as many as 32 points in the first half and took a 44-15 lead into the break, as Loyola Maryland shot just 6-for-37 (16.2 percent) in the first 20 minutes.

Tuesday marked the first meeting between the schools. Marquette improved to 14-0 against programs that currently are part of the Patriot League.

The Golden Eagles have won 27 of their past 29 season openers, and boast an 87-16 record all-time in such games.

--Field Level Media