The Marquette students trickled in to the Al McGuire Center on Thursday, fresh from enjoying a 70-plus degree November day.

Soon 3,706 of them filled up all the seats to create a hothouse environment. It wouldn't take much for the MU men's basketball team to set off the on-campus arena in an explosion of ear-splitting noise.

David Joplin was happy to provide the spark.

The former Brookfield Central star ignited the crowd with his scorching shooting and scored a collegiate-high 23 points to lead the Golden Eagles to a 97-73 rout of Central Michigan.

Box score:Marquette 97, Central Michigan 73

"I loved it," Joplin said. "I love when all the students come out. The gym is smaller, so they filled the whole thing up and they were loud. Games like that, I live for."

Rare Marquette students-only game at Al McGuire Center

MU played at the on-campus arena during a three-game run in the 2018 National Invitation Tournament. The last regular-season game in the building was against Alabama A&M on Dec. 19, 2014.

"We had to play this game out of necessity," MU coach Shaka Smart said. "There's an event in Fiserv (Forum) for about a five day stretch (Jurassic World Live). It didn't make sense to play on the road, because we've got a road game coming up next.

"So that's what created this opportunity. Our administration had the great idea to make it a student-only event, because we weren't going to be able to fit everyone in here. We thought it'd be a fun activity. The whole day's been great with the students on campus. It seems like they really enjoyed it. If the opportunity presents itself again, this was a lot of fun but, I tell you what, we play in the best arena in the country in Fiserv Forum."

Joplin checked into the game for MU at the 17:20 mark of the first half, and Central Michigan immediately tied the game at 4-4.

Then Joplin canned back-to-back threes and added a three-point play a few minutes later to give the Golden Eagles a 15-6 advantage.

The Al McGuire Center was bedlam.

"I told Zach (Wrightsil) before the game, I said I can just feel it," Joplin said. "Just the energy, the atmosphere. I just wanted to come in and attack.

"Last game, I did alright in some areas. But offensively I wasn't who I am. So I just had a meeting with Coach before and he told me to be yourself. Be aggressive with that swagger."

MU fed off the energy in the building with its full-court defensive press. The lead expanded to 45-15 with just under six minutes left in the half.

The Golden Eagles then let their foot off the gas pedal with the Chippewas cutting the lead down to 47-29 at the break.

David Joplin finishes off collegiate high with 23 points and 6 three-pointers

There were a few lulls in the second half, but the Golden Eagles pushed the lead back up to 88-58 after a flurry of three straight three-pointers by Joplin. He finished 6 of 10 from long range.

"I'm hard on Jop because I think he can be so good," Smart said. "He's so gifted and can do a lot of things.

"We have a young group and we've got some guys that are still becoming what they're going to become. David Joplin, Kam Jones, Stevie Mitchell, every one of our freshmen. These guys have the opportunity and potential to be terrific players.

"They're not all the way there yet. But you see some glimpses like Jop's performance tonight. He has to understand that it has to start on the defensive end. I thought he was more locked in defensively early in the game tonight than he was on Monday night against Radford. Our whole team at times lost focus when we got a big lead, so we got some room to grow."

Four other MU players scored in double figures: Olivier-Maxence Prosper (13), Chase Ross (11), Ben Gold (11) and Oso Ighodaro (10).

Freshman Ben Gold has breakout game with 11 points

It was a breakout game for both Joplin and Gold. Joplin missed all five of his shots in the opener while Gold played just five minutes in his first college game. Joplin's previous collegiate high was 10 points against St. Bonaventure last season.

Gold, a 6-foot-11 freshman from New Zealand, scored seven straight points for MU early in the second half and then had a highlight-reel dunk.

"The first game was a little bit of nerves, I think so," Gold said. "And then I had a couple of defensive plays that I had some lapses on.

"But today I just managed to stay out on the court. And do my role, continue to do my role. Stay in front on defense and it kept me on the court."

It felt like Brookfield Central for David Joplin

The night, however, belonged to Joplin. With family and friends in the crowd and the intimate venue, it felt like he was back at Brookfield Central.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Joplin said. "It felt just like high school. Small and loud. It felt like we were playing in a rivalry game. So I felt at home."

He also shared a long embrace with former Butler coach LaVall Jordan, who was broadcasting the game for Fox Sports.

"For about eight months, he was my No. 1 for recruiting," Joplin said. "I talked to him almost every day. Him and Coach (Omar) Lowery, who was an assistant coach at the time. I thought I was going there for the longest time until I met Shaka.

"I have a real great relationship with him and he's been a really good mentor for me going into my junior year, sorting stuff out. Because that was the year with COVID and everything, so we never knew what was going on. So it was good to talk with him."

What was Jordan's message?

"He said just make sure to pay attention and listen to Coach Smart," Joplin said. "Because he's going to make me a great player and successful.

"I said 'Thank you, coach. I appreciate it.' And he's right. Listening to Coach Smart, Coach Smart knows exactly what he's doing. He's probably the best coach I ever had."

More:Shaka Smart excited about signing three 2023 recruits, but Marquette will need to make room for them

More:Marquette freshman Chase Ross shows how he can make an impact on defense beyond the box score

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: David Joplin, Marquette defeat Central Michigan at Al McGuire Center