HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall enjoyed its best shooting game of the season and matched the second-largest win in school history during a 121-57 victory over outmanned NAIA opponent Alice Lloyd on Tuesday.
Ryan Taylor, with 25 points in just 20 minutes, was one of six Herd players to score in double figures inside the Cam Henderson Center.
The 64-point margin of victory trailed only an 84-point win over Salem on Dec. 3, 2009.
Overall, Marshall (5-6) had its best shooting performance of the season, shooting 64.7 percent from the floor, 57.7 percent from beyond the 3-point line, and 81.8 percent from the free-throw line. The Herd made 15 3-pointers, including four from Austin Loop and three apiece from Chris Thomas and Tamron Manning. Shawn Smith (18 points and 12 rebounds) and Kareem Canty (11 points and 14 assists) each had double-doubles.
“For a young inexperienced team, they showed me that they have some moxie, they’ve got a little bit of ‘it,’” Marshall coach Tom Herrion said of his team in its first game action after falling to West Virginia on Saturday. “A lot of guys stepping up for us in different ways was fun. It was nice to see some of those kids have their moment, to say the least.”
Some of those players who stood out to the announced crowd of just over four thousand were Loop and Yous Mbao. Loop says his career high 17 points wouldn’t have been possible without Canty.
“Playing with a distributor like Canty is a shooter’s dream,” Loop said.
Mbao had one of his best performances in the green and white, despite scoring just four points on the evening. He played 21 minutes and pulled down 14 rebounds, 12 of them on the defensive glass, in addition to rejecting two shots.
Alice Lloyd (6-6) stayed with Marshall for the opening seven minutes, but Marshall exploded for a 35-16 run in the final 13 minutes of the first half to lead 54-30.
Marshall continued to dominate in the second half, as the Herd finished the game with its largest lead of the game.
Alice Lloyd was forced to sit leading scorer Tyler Rogers for much of the game due to foul trouble, although he managed to avoid picking up his fifth foul playing in the final 12 minutes of the contest. Rogers finished with 13 points and three rebounds.
The Herd will next be in action as part of a men’s-women’s doubleheader, as the women will take on Delaware State at noon on Saturday inside the Henderson Center, and the men will hit the floor against Arkansas State at 7 p.m.
— Braxton Crisp