HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The defending Conference USA champion Marshall men’s basketball team returned to the court Sunday with a 113-108 exhibition win against Division II Glenville State at the Henderson Center.
It was a homecoming for a couple of the visitors – former guard Ot Elmore is in his first season as a Glenville State assistant coach and Herd transfer Phil Bledsoe is a starter for the Pioneers – but there was no upset as Marshall played its first game since March’s C-USA tournament and NCAA tournament run.
The game featured 13 lead changes and eight ties, and visiting Glenville State led for 16 minutes and 50 seconds of the 40-minute contest.
“We played a lot of guys; a lot of different lineups,” said Jon Elmore, a senior guard for Marshall. “I saw South Carolina lost the other day in their exhibition game. Anything can happen in these games. These guys are coming in, they’re not here to get beat. The first exhibition game of the year is always going to be tough; you haven’t played with each other in a live game, referees, crowd there, you have a little adrenaline there you don’t have in practice. It’s definitely a learning experience.”
Glenville State made 17 of 37 from 3-point range, but Bledsoe missed a game-tying 3 with 31 seconds left that sealed the outcome. Jamal Pollydore finished with a game-high 34 points for Glenville State, and he made 8 of 10 from 3-point range.
“They shot the heck out of the ball,” Elmore said. “They started off on fire.”
Glenville State, which was picked to finish eighth in Mountain East Conference preseason poll, opened the game on an 11-0 run, bookended by a game-opening jump shot by Bledsoe and a 3-pointer by Bledsoe with 17:32 left of the first half. Marshall whittled away at the deficit from there, outscoring the Pioneers 63-43 the rest of the half.
Marshall fans received a long look at the team’s newcomers. Redshirt freshman big man Iran Bennett scored the Herd’s first points, 2 of the 28 the team scored in the paint in the first half. After MU missed its first five 3-point attempts, senior guard C.J. Burks connected on one to trim Glenville State’s lead to 17-10 with 14:57 left.
Marshall’s first lead came more than 13 minutes into the game when Elmore finished a reverse layup to make it 40-39, Herd, with 6:31 left of the first half. The lead was short-lived – 19 seconds – as Bledsoe answered with a 3-pointer on the other end. The teams traded baskets and the lead until Burks found sophomore forward Jannson Williams for an alley-oop to make it 50-49, Herd, with 3:43 left of the first half.
After the early deficit, Marshall led 63-54 at halftime – its largest lead to that point. Burks led the way with 19 first-half points, and three others – sophomore forward Darius George, sophomore guard Jarrod West and Elmore – were in double figures by intermission.
“Boy, they shot the lights out,” Marshall coach Dan D’Antoni said of Glenville State. “I thought they did a great job. I hope it was beneficial for their team. They gave us something, so I hope we gave them something.
“I didn’t know they could shoot like that.”
Marshall squandered its halftime lead within the first three minutes of the second half, and Glenville State took a 71-70 lead on a jumper by Karl Jeanty. Neither team led by more than 6 points the rest of the way, and Burks had a breakaway dunk with 25 seconds left to arrive at the final score.
“We’ve got some things we can work on,” D’Antoni said. “We have to hone it in defensively.”
Burks finished with a team-high 25 points on 10 of 13 shooting. He also had five assists. Elmore filled the stat sheet with 16 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in 33 minutes. West finished with 16 points, senior guard Rondale Watson added 11 and George’s breakout ended with 19 points, six rebounds and 3 of 4 shooting from 3-point range.
Overall, the Herd shot 53.2 percent from the field (41 of 77), 32.0 percent from 3-point range (8 of 25) and 88.5 percent from the foul line (23 of 26). Marshall had 20 assists against 10 turnovers, but witnessed Glenville State connect on nine more 3-point attempts and outrebound MU, 46-44. Bledsoe finished with the game’s only double-double in his return to the Henderson Center: 14 points and 10 rebounds.
“That’s what exhibitions are for – to see how you get better on down the road,” D’Antoni said. “Our teams, historically, in my four years here, have all gotten better as we go down the road.”
The Marshall men’s basketball team will play another exhibition game at the Henderson Center this Thursday, Nov. 1, against West Virginia Wesleyan. Tipoff for that game is 7 p.m.
The regular season opener is Wednesday, Nov. 7 at Eastern Kentucky (7 p.m.). The official home opener is Sunday, Nov. 11 against Hofstra at 2:30 p.m.
It was a homecoming for a couple of the visitors – former guard Ot Elmore is in his first season as a Glenville State assistant coach and Herd transfer Phil Bledsoe is a starter for the Pioneers – but there was no upset as Marshall played its first game since March’s C-USA tournament and NCAA tournament run.
The game featured 13 lead changes and eight ties, and visiting Glenville State led for 16 minutes and 50 seconds of the 40-minute contest.
“We played a lot of guys; a lot of different lineups,” said Jon Elmore, a senior guard for Marshall. “I saw South Carolina lost the other day in their exhibition game. Anything can happen in these games. These guys are coming in, they’re not here to get beat. The first exhibition game of the year is always going to be tough; you haven’t played with each other in a live game, referees, crowd there, you have a little adrenaline there you don’t have in practice. It’s definitely a learning experience.”
Glenville State made 17 of 37 from 3-point range, but Bledsoe missed a game-tying 3 with 31 seconds left that sealed the outcome. Jamal Pollydore finished with a game-high 34 points for Glenville State, and he made 8 of 10 from 3-point range.
“They shot the heck out of the ball,” Elmore said. “They started off on fire.”
Glenville State, which was picked to finish eighth in Mountain East Conference preseason poll, opened the game on an 11-0 run, bookended by a game-opening jump shot by Bledsoe and a 3-pointer by Bledsoe with 17:32 left of the first half. Marshall whittled away at the deficit from there, outscoring the Pioneers 63-43 the rest of the half.
Marshall fans received a long look at the team’s newcomers. Redshirt freshman big man Iran Bennett scored the Herd’s first points, 2 of the 28 the team scored in the paint in the first half. After MU missed its first five 3-point attempts, senior guard C.J. Burks connected on one to trim Glenville State’s lead to 17-10 with 14:57 left.
Marshall’s first lead came more than 13 minutes into the game when Elmore finished a reverse layup to make it 40-39, Herd, with 6:31 left of the first half. The lead was short-lived – 19 seconds – as Bledsoe answered with a 3-pointer on the other end. The teams traded baskets and the lead until Burks found sophomore forward Jannson Williams for an alley-oop to make it 50-49, Herd, with 3:43 left of the first half.
After the early deficit, Marshall led 63-54 at halftime – its largest lead to that point. Burks led the way with 19 first-half points, and three others – sophomore forward Darius George, sophomore guard Jarrod West and Elmore – were in double figures by intermission.
“Boy, they shot the lights out,” Marshall coach Dan D’Antoni said of Glenville State. “I thought they did a great job. I hope it was beneficial for their team. They gave us something, so I hope we gave them something.
“I didn’t know they could shoot like that.”
Marshall squandered its halftime lead within the first three minutes of the second half, and Glenville State took a 71-70 lead on a jumper by Karl Jeanty. Neither team led by more than 6 points the rest of the way, and Burks had a breakaway dunk with 25 seconds left to arrive at the final score.
“We’ve got some things we can work on,” D’Antoni said. “We have to hone it in defensively.”
Burks finished with a team-high 25 points on 10 of 13 shooting. He also had five assists. Elmore filled the stat sheet with 16 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in 33 minutes. West finished with 16 points, senior guard Rondale Watson added 11 and George’s breakout ended with 19 points, six rebounds and 3 of 4 shooting from 3-point range.
Overall, the Herd shot 53.2 percent from the field (41 of 77), 32.0 percent from 3-point range (8 of 25) and 88.5 percent from the foul line (23 of 26). Marshall had 20 assists against 10 turnovers, but witnessed Glenville State connect on nine more 3-point attempts and outrebound MU, 46-44. Bledsoe finished with the game’s only double-double in his return to the Henderson Center: 14 points and 10 rebounds.
“That’s what exhibitions are for – to see how you get better on down the road,” D’Antoni said. “Our teams, historically, in my four years here, have all gotten better as we go down the road.”
The Marshall men’s basketball team will play another exhibition game at the Henderson Center this Thursday, Nov. 1, against West Virginia Wesleyan. Tipoff for that game is 7 p.m.
The regular season opener is Wednesday, Nov. 7 at Eastern Kentucky (7 p.m.). The official home opener is Sunday, Nov. 11 against Hofstra at 2:30 p.m.
