HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Austin Loop scored a game-high 18 points and closed in on Marshall’s record for the most three-pointers in a career in the Herd’s 92-71 win over UTSA Thursday night at the Cam Henderson Center.
Marshall is now 11-0 at home this season and improved to 13-8 in Conference USA.
Loop made six three’s and now has 250 career made three-pointers, one shy of tying the school record set by Tamar Slay (1998-2002).
“I always feel as if I could have shot and made a little more every game. I am grateful for my team for giving me great looks,” said Loop.
Jon Elmore collected his fifth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 assists. Stevie Browning had 13 points, six assists and four rebounds while Ryan Taylor finished a rebound short of a double-double with 12 points and nine boards.
Marshall was in control of the game from the start, scoring the first ten points of the game, Browning accounting for five of the ten points during that stretch. UTSA didn’t register a single point for the first 5:27 of the game.
A Browning jumper with 7:44 left in the first half gave Marshall a 16-point lead. The Roadrunners never trimmed the deficit to 14 points in the first half but never got any closer.
“It is always good to win. I’m glad I got to play some players who haven’t seen the floor,” said Coach Dan D’Antoni.
“I hope that encourages them to come out every practice and prepare the guys in front of them, and to get them ready to play the next game. This was a solid team, they had a great win down at Louisiana Tech. I thought our defense was stellar. We had a lot of ball movement and assists, which means that ball is hopping and that’s we have to do.”
Marshall faces UTEP Saturday night at the Henderson Center. The Miners have a 10-4 advantage in the all-time series.
“I don’t know what they are going to do, Tim (Floyd) will try and mix us up. The good thing about us is that we don’t prepare for them anyway. Tim does a great job; they have two good guards; they can shoot it quick and get it up there. I don’t know how he will play whether its standard with the big kid that he has inside or if he will play small, as he did last year. So, how he is going to play us, I don’t know. We just come and we will see if we can’t get our game on the floor,” D’Antoni said.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.