BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— Marshall played well enough defensively to give itself a shot but it once again struggled on offense falling in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament 59-45 to top seeded Western Kentucky.
Marshall was without Justin Edmonds, who had started the last 24 games. His absence was certainly noticeable as the Herd struggled to score the basketball. Marshall started the game 0-for-8 from the field and found itself in a hole it never could dig out of.
The Herd trailed 26-20 at the half but saw the game slip away early in the second half. WKU went on a 15-2 run giving the Hilltoppers a 56-41 lead.
“I thought we hung in there for a long time. We had a couple setbacks with losing Justin (Edmonds) to injury. He always guarded the toughest guys. That’s a tough adjustment,” said coach Dan D’Antoni. “I was proud of the guys and how they manned up. We had a run toward the end, and I thought they represented our school well.”
WKU eventually built a 16-point lead with 4:07 left in the game.
Marshall shot 30.5 percent from the field but hit just 3-of-19 from the field and the Hilltoppers scored 22 points off 17 Marshall turnovers.
Ryan Taylor was just 4-of-20 from the field and was limited to eight points on the night.
“Coming in knowing that Justin (Edmonds) was going to be out of this game was tough,” said Taylor. “They de- fended me well. Some shots weren’t falling that I normally make. They just played good defense on me, but other than that our opening was there, we just didn’t make shots.”
Marshall finishes the season 11-21.