NORFOLK, Va.— For just the fourth time in school history, Marshall has recorded a 20 loss season as it dropped the final road game of the year 70-63 to Old Dominion.
The last 20-loss season came in 2004-05, Ron Jirsa’s second season as head coach, when Marshall went 6-22. Jirsa was fired two seasons later.
Marshall struggled from the field once again, shooting just 37 percent from the floor and 6-of-15 from behind the arc. Despite the poor shooting performance, Marshall mounted a late rally the closing minutes that ultimately came up short. Dimitri Batten’s bucket with 7:07 to play put gave ODU its largest lead of the game, putting the Monarchs in front by 14.
The Herd chipped away at the Monarchs’ advantage, cutting the deficit to five points thanks to a three-pointer by Kareem Canty with 34 seconds left. However, it was too little too late for Marshall. Trailing by five with a half-minute to play, Marshall was forced to foul and ODU sank six free-throws to salt the game away.
Canty led The Herd with 24 points while Chris Thomas poured in 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
The seven-point loss marks the 15th time Marshall has lost a game by ten points or less this season.
Marshall, now 9-20 on the year, will finish out the regular season with a pair of home games. The Herd will play host to East Carolina next Sunday and will round out the regular season with Charlotte on March 6th.