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HUNTINGTON, W.Va.—Five players finished in double-figures Wednesday night for Marshall men’s basketball (1-6) as the Herd picked up its first win of the season with an 82-76 defeat of Eastern Illinois (2-5) in the first game of the Global Sports Classic at the Cam Henderson Center.
Ryan Taylor paced the Herd with a team-high 22 points and James Kelly turned in his third double-double of the season—his second in as many games—netting 16 points while grabbing 14 rebounds in the winning effort. C.J. Burks added 19 points in his game-high 39 minutes of action off the bench while Stevie Browning and Austin Loop chipped in 11 and 10 respectively.
298 days had passed since the Herd’s last victory, a 79-63 win over FAU at the Cam Feb. 28, 2015, but head coach Dan D’Antoni was not only happy about getting the win, but also about getting a post-game meal.
“It was a win and its Sugar-Pops tonight for me,” D’Antoni jokingly said. “I usually go to bed without dinner, now I get to eat cereal and the D’Antoni family is smiling.”
“I was happy that we got the win. Ryan Taylor had an outstanding game and Austin Loop looked much better. James Kelly had another solid performance tonight. We have to limit the turnovers and improve the free throw shooting but overall we played a solid game.”
Taylor said it’s a great feeling to finally get over the hump.
“We are all excited,” Taylor said. “We knew it was going to come here soon. I didn’t know when, and we didn’t know when…it feels really good to get the monkey off of our backs and get the first win.”
Eastern Illinois took advantage of Marshall’s poor shooting to open the contest as the Panthers raced out to an early 7-4 lead. With only 90 seconds erased from the clock, D’Antoni was forced to turn to the bench after starting center Ajdin Peneva picked up two personal fouls. However, the miscues proved to be a blessing in disguise.
Off the bench, Burks gave the Herd three assists and five points amidst a 15-2 Marshall run. The Herd took an 11-9 lead with 16:29 left in the half and never looked back the remaining 36 minutes.
“I just feed off of everybody else” Burks said. “I am not the type of person that goes for shots. I just shoot the shots that come to me and help the team wherever I can help them.”
Marshall extended its lead to 15 points midway through the first half; only to Eastern Illinois claw its way back into the contest with Trae Andeson turning in a 15-point first half performance for the men in blue. The Panthers held the Herd scoreless for over two minutes just before the break, trimming the lead down to only one at 38-37. Marshall responded with a quick 4-0 run in the final minute coming off a Taylor free throw and another Loop three-pointer for a 42-37 lead at the half.
Marshall’s led at the break was only its second of the season, the first coming in the season opener at Tennessee. It was the first time in five games the Panthers had tried going into the locker room.
Eastern Illinois exploded out of the break with back-to-back buckets by Anderson to cut the Herd’s led down to one, but Browning and Burks pushed the lead back to 10 before the first media timeout.
Marshall took its largest lead of the contest with 10:41 left to play after offensive rebounds by Kelly and Burks gave Browning an easy layup and a 66-48 edge. Kelly grabbed five offensive boards and Burks added four.
Anderson led the Panthers’ charge once again, getting to within five with 3:48 left to play. With Eastern Illinois playing catch-up, Marshall spent much of the later minutes of the game on the line trying to steer off the visitor’s comeback efforts.
With 20 seconds remaining, Anderson’s layup made it 80-76 but Marshall would hit 2-of-3 from the line while forcing a late turnover to seal the win. D’Antoni subbed only one time in the second half; as Jacob Kilgore gave Loop a four-minute breather.
“I did not have the confidence to substitute anybody,” D’Antoni said, “so I left the same five guys out there for the entire time. I knew that they could play well and they showed why I trusted them.”
Marshall limited Eastern Illinois to only two second-chance points in the second half while netting 15 of its own. Marshall dominated the glass, pulling down 49 rebounds—31 coming in the second half—and allowing only 31 total for the Panthers.
With the win, Marshall snapped Eastern Illinois’ two-game winning streak while pushing its record to 0-3 when trailing at the half.
Anderson finished with a career-high 31 points in the loss. A.J. Riley added 13 and Patrick Muldoon netted 12.
Marshall welcomes Eastern Kentucky to the Cam Saturday evening. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
HUNTINGTON, W.Va.—Five players finished in double-figures Wednesday night for Marshall men’s basketball (1-6) as the Herd picked up its first win of the season with an 82-76 defeat of Eastern Illinois (2-5) in the first game of the Global Sports Classic at the Cam Henderson Center.
Ryan Taylor paced the Herd with a team-high 22 points and James Kelly turned in his third double-double of the season—his second in as many games—netting 16 points while grabbing 14 rebounds in the winning effort. C.J. Burks added 19 points in his game-high 39 minutes of action off the bench while Stevie Browning and Austin Loop chipped in 11 and 10 respectively.
298 days had passed since the Herd’s last victory, a 79-63 win over FAU at the Cam Feb. 28, 2015, but head coach Dan D’Antoni was not only happy about getting the win, but also about getting a post-game meal.
“It was a win and its Sugar-Pops tonight for me,” D’Antoni jokingly said. “I usually go to bed without dinner, now I get to eat cereal and the D’Antoni family is smiling.”
“I was happy that we got the win. Ryan Taylor had an outstanding game and Austin Loop looked much better. James Kelly had another solid performance tonight. We have to limit the turnovers and improve the free throw shooting but overall we played a solid game.”
Taylor said it’s a great feeling to finally get over the hump.
“We are all excited,” Taylor said. “We knew it was going to come here soon. I didn’t know when, and we didn’t know when…it feels really good to get the monkey off of our backs and get the first win.”
Eastern Illinois took advantage of Marshall’s poor shooting to open the contest as the Panthers raced out to an early 7-4 lead. With only 90 seconds erased from the clock, D’Antoni was forced to turn to the bench after starting center Ajdin Peneva picked up two personal fouls. However, the miscues proved to be a blessing in disguise.
Off the bench, Burks gave the Herd three assists and five points amidst a 15-2 Marshall run. The Herd took an 11-9 lead with 16:29 left in the half and never looked back the remaining 36 minutes.
“I just feed off of everybody else” Burks said. “I am not the type of person that goes for shots. I just shoot the shots that come to me and help the team wherever I can help them.”
Marshall extended its lead to 15 points midway through the first half; only to Eastern Illinois claw its way back into the contest with Trae Andeson turning in a 15-point first half performance for the men in blue. The Panthers held the Herd scoreless for over two minutes just before the break, trimming the lead down to only one at 38-37. Marshall responded with a quick 4-0 run in the final minute coming off a Taylor free throw and another Loop three-pointer for a 42-37 lead at the half.
Marshall’s led at the break was only its second of the season, the first coming in the season opener at Tennessee. It was the first time in five games the Panthers had tried going into the locker room.
Eastern Illinois exploded out of the break with back-to-back buckets by Anderson to cut the Herd’s led down to one, but Browning and Burks pushed the lead back to 10 before the first media timeout.
Marshall took its largest lead of the contest with 10:41 left to play after offensive rebounds by Kelly and Burks gave Browning an easy layup and a 66-48 edge. Kelly grabbed five offensive boards and Burks added four.
Anderson led the Panthers’ charge once again, getting to within five with 3:48 left to play. With Eastern Illinois playing catch-up, Marshall spent much of the later minutes of the game on the line trying to steer off the visitor’s comeback efforts.
With 20 seconds remaining, Anderson’s layup made it 80-76 but Marshall would hit 2-of-3 from the line while forcing a late turnover to seal the win. D’Antoni subbed only one time in the second half; as Jacob Kilgore gave Loop a four-minute breather.
“I did not have the confidence to substitute anybody,” D’Antoni said, “so I left the same five guys out there for the entire time. I knew that they could play well and they showed why I trusted them.”
Marshall limited Eastern Illinois to only two second-chance points in the second half while netting 15 of its own. Marshall dominated the glass, pulling down 49 rebounds—31 coming in the second half—and allowing only 31 total for the Panthers.
With the win, Marshall snapped Eastern Illinois’ two-game winning streak while pushing its record to 0-3 when trailing at the half.
Anderson finished with a career-high 31 points in the loss. A.J. Riley added 13 and Patrick Muldoon netted 12.
Marshall welcomes Eastern Kentucky to the Cam Saturday evening. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
