HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall men’s basketball team opened their 2016-17 season with an exhibition win over West Virginia State by a score of 93-70 at the Cam Henderson Center.
After both teams went scoreless on their first two possessions, seniors Ryan Taylor and Austin Loop got the Herd off on an 8-0 run with 16:30 left in the first half. Marshall continued the poor the pressure on mid-way through the first half Marshall stretched their lead to 23-7. Austin Loop led the way early on sinking two three-pointers in eight minutes of play. With 7:51 seconds remaining in the first half the Thundering Herd had a stable lead of 28-13.
Coming off the bench, Aleksa Nikolic scored five points and was two of two from the field. After the final media timeout occurred with 3:37 left in the first half West Virginia State cut into Marshall’s lead and made it a ten-point game, 33-23 Marshall.
Tyrie Elliot led the way for the Yellow Jackets as he contributed nine points off the bench. With just over a minute remaining junior guard Jon Elmore sank a huge three-pointer for the Herd to retake a double-digit lead, 40-28. The first half finished with Marshall in the lead by 13 points lead, 42-29.
Marshall was 14-28 from the field, 5-16 from behind the arc and 9-10 with free throws. Senior guard Stevie Browning led the Herd in boards, as he recorded four first half defensive rebounds. Elmore led the Herd in first half points with 11, while Loop also added eight of his own and was 2-4 from three-point territory.
The second half started and the Thundering Herd bursting out of the gates, as Stevie Browning and Jon Elmore combined for a quick five-point run to take the Herd’s lead to 47-34. Taylor, Browning and Elmore went on a 6-0 run early in the second half to take a commanding 61-40 lead. At the midway point of the second half, the trifecta of Browning, Elmore and Taylor all had over seven points apiece.
With 8:26 remaining the Yellow Jackets connected on five straight baskets to cut the Marshall’s lead back to 13 points. West Virginia State’s Earnest Jenkins hit back-to-back three-point shots on the run. With under five minutes to play in the contest, junior Terrence Thompson hit a jumper to retake a 15-point lead, with Marshall leading 80-65. With three minutes remaining in the game, freshman guard Ky-re Allison threw a lob pass to Taylor for a huge alley-oop. Marshall finished the game on a 7-0 run to cap off a 93-70 win.
The Thundering Herd finished the game shooting an impressive 34-69 from the field, 9-30 from beyond the arc and were successful on 16-20 free throws. Elmore led Marshall in 20 points and four assists. Thompson led the team in rebounds with eight, seven of which were defensive boards and added nine points of his own. Taylor finished the game with 16 points, and six boards. Browning also had a strong showing he shot 5-8 for 13 points and finished with 6 boards of his own.
Coach’s Corner Quotes from head coach Dan D’Antoni
Opening Statement
West Virginia State is always a good way to start. They are a well-coached team and they played hard. We got to see a lot of players, obviously, as we played 15 in the first half. That cuts down on the rhythm of a game, so your play goes up and down a bit. I thought I saw what I wanted to see. What we have to correct is our defensive problems. We’re not going to be able to push up and to the sides and as far out as we were doing. They only shot 31 percent from the field and 25% from the three-point line, and that’s not bad, but I didn’t think we got enough deflections and I didn’t think we got enough steals, either. Going through the roster, I think our first five is solid and they played well together. I thought [Austin] Loop played well. I liked that Alex [Nikolic] stepped up after that first group. That kid was aggressive and looked big going to the basket. Ajdin [Penava] played adequately. He’ll need to get stronger and quicker. Ky’re [Allison] is going to be a nice point guard. I thought he played pretty well for a freshman in his first time out. All in all, a decent performance. Last year, Newberry (S.C.) beat us in an exhibition, so we’re ahead of last year’s pace. We have two days to get better and improve for a better Charleston team.
On the rotation
We know that we have five solid players in our starters. Once C.J. [Burks] comes back, that makes six and if Nikolic keeps playing like he did tonight, that’s seven. Ajdin [Penava] is passable and with Ky’re [Allison], that’s nine. I think Christian [Thieneman] can give us more and I want to see if [Jacob] Kilgore can. I think Noah [Frampton] really can and we’ll see what we have with [Phil] Bledsoe. I think theings look bright and we’ll be competitive within our league.
#STATEATPLAY For all the latest information about the Marshall men’s basketball team, follow @HerdMBB on twitter and Marshall University basketball on Facebook.
UP NEXT The Herd are back in the Cam Henderson Center for a Sunday afternoon tipoff at 2 p.m. for their final exhibition game of the 2016-17 season. Regular season play starts on Nov. 12 in the Cam Henderson Center against North Carolina Central, tipoff is at noon.
After both teams went scoreless on their first two possessions, seniors Ryan Taylor and Austin Loop got the Herd off on an 8-0 run with 16:30 left in the first half. Marshall continued the poor the pressure on mid-way through the first half Marshall stretched their lead to 23-7. Austin Loop led the way early on sinking two three-pointers in eight minutes of play. With 7:51 seconds remaining in the first half the Thundering Herd had a stable lead of 28-13.
Coming off the bench, Aleksa Nikolic scored five points and was two of two from the field. After the final media timeout occurred with 3:37 left in the first half West Virginia State cut into Marshall’s lead and made it a ten-point game, 33-23 Marshall.
Tyrie Elliot led the way for the Yellow Jackets as he contributed nine points off the bench. With just over a minute remaining junior guard Jon Elmore sank a huge three-pointer for the Herd to retake a double-digit lead, 40-28. The first half finished with Marshall in the lead by 13 points lead, 42-29.
Marshall was 14-28 from the field, 5-16 from behind the arc and 9-10 with free throws. Senior guard Stevie Browning led the Herd in boards, as he recorded four first half defensive rebounds. Elmore led the Herd in first half points with 11, while Loop also added eight of his own and was 2-4 from three-point territory.
The second half started and the Thundering Herd bursting out of the gates, as Stevie Browning and Jon Elmore combined for a quick five-point run to take the Herd’s lead to 47-34. Taylor, Browning and Elmore went on a 6-0 run early in the second half to take a commanding 61-40 lead. At the midway point of the second half, the trifecta of Browning, Elmore and Taylor all had over seven points apiece.
With 8:26 remaining the Yellow Jackets connected on five straight baskets to cut the Marshall’s lead back to 13 points. West Virginia State’s Earnest Jenkins hit back-to-back three-point shots on the run. With under five minutes to play in the contest, junior Terrence Thompson hit a jumper to retake a 15-point lead, with Marshall leading 80-65. With three minutes remaining in the game, freshman guard Ky-re Allison threw a lob pass to Taylor for a huge alley-oop. Marshall finished the game on a 7-0 run to cap off a 93-70 win.
The Thundering Herd finished the game shooting an impressive 34-69 from the field, 9-30 from beyond the arc and were successful on 16-20 free throws. Elmore led Marshall in 20 points and four assists. Thompson led the team in rebounds with eight, seven of which were defensive boards and added nine points of his own. Taylor finished the game with 16 points, and six boards. Browning also had a strong showing he shot 5-8 for 13 points and finished with 6 boards of his own.
Coach’s Corner Quotes from head coach Dan D’Antoni
Opening Statement
West Virginia State is always a good way to start. They are a well-coached team and they played hard. We got to see a lot of players, obviously, as we played 15 in the first half. That cuts down on the rhythm of a game, so your play goes up and down a bit. I thought I saw what I wanted to see. What we have to correct is our defensive problems. We’re not going to be able to push up and to the sides and as far out as we were doing. They only shot 31 percent from the field and 25% from the three-point line, and that’s not bad, but I didn’t think we got enough deflections and I didn’t think we got enough steals, either. Going through the roster, I think our first five is solid and they played well together. I thought [Austin] Loop played well. I liked that Alex [Nikolic] stepped up after that first group. That kid was aggressive and looked big going to the basket. Ajdin [Penava] played adequately. He’ll need to get stronger and quicker. Ky’re [Allison] is going to be a nice point guard. I thought he played pretty well for a freshman in his first time out. All in all, a decent performance. Last year, Newberry (S.C.) beat us in an exhibition, so we’re ahead of last year’s pace. We have two days to get better and improve for a better Charleston team.
On the rotation
We know that we have five solid players in our starters. Once C.J. [Burks] comes back, that makes six and if Nikolic keeps playing like he did tonight, that’s seven. Ajdin [Penava] is passable and with Ky’re [Allison], that’s nine. I think Christian [Thieneman] can give us more and I want to see if [Jacob] Kilgore can. I think Noah [Frampton] really can and we’ll see what we have with [Phil] Bledsoe. I think theings look bright and we’ll be competitive within our league.
#STATEATPLAY For all the latest information about the Marshall men’s basketball team, follow @HerdMBB on twitter and Marshall University basketball on Facebook.
UP NEXT The Herd are back in the Cam Henderson Center for a Sunday afternoon tipoff at 2 p.m. for their final exhibition game of the 2016-17 season. Regular season play starts on Nov. 12 in the Cam Henderson Center against North Carolina Central, tipoff is at noon.
