McNeal, Acker return to Chicago as Marquette faces Northern Iowa

Nov 28, 2008 - 11:21 AM No. 15 Marquette (4-0) at Northern Iowa (3-1) 8:30 pm. EST

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Illinois (Ticker) -- Jerel McNeal and Maurice Acker hope to have a successful homecoming on Friday when they lead No. 15 Marquette against Northern Iowa in the Chicago Invitational.

McNeal, a Chicago-area native, is the team's second-leading scorer at 19.8 points per game. The 6-3, 200-pound senior guard had 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists in a 85-68 win over Texas Southern on Tuesday.

McNeal should have plenty of family and friends in the crowd. He starred at nearby Hillcrest High, helping the program to multiple conference championships and a sectional final appearance in 2005.

As will Acker, who was McNeal's teammate on those teams. He spent one season at Ball State before transferring to Marquette. Acker had 10 points in the win over Texas Southern, and is averaging six points off the bench.

The duo will look to help the Golden Eagles improve to 15-1 in season opening tournaments since the 2004-05 season.

The Panthers (3-1) are coming off an 81-70 win over Chicago State on Tuesday. Johnny Moran scored 15 points and Travis Brown added 14 points for Northern Iowa, which got 37 points from its bench.