— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall University men’s basketball team passed its first test by using a strong second half to outgun Glenville State, 100-66, in an exhibition game in front of 5,297 fans Tuesday night at Cam Henderson Center.
The Thundering Herd led 45-35 at the intermission, but outscored the Pioneers, 55-31, in the final 20 minutes to win going away.
“Once we got it out and spread them out, the game got better,” Marshall head coach Dan D’Antoni told the media. “The first half I substituted on a platoon. That’s difficult for teams to get into a rhythm. The second half I went to one to two at a time. Then we got them down a little bit and put other guys in.
“We obviously still have a lot of work to do. We’re not shooting the ball as well as we can from 3. We have to be a better shooting team. I think we are. We have to do a better job of getting those shots.”
Redshirt freshman forward Cam Brooks-Harris led Marshall with 19 points and played 18 minutes. Junior forward Mikel Beyers topped the Herd in rebounds with 13.
Marshall held the visitors to 30 percent (25-for-82) from the field, including 14 percent (6-for-43) from 3-point range.
Marshall’s next exhibition is at home Saturday at against the University of Rio Grande. Tip is at 1 p.m.
Phil Bledsoe, a senior and transfer from Marshall, led the Pioneers with 22 points and 12 boards for a double-double.
Marshall made separation as it went on a 15-5 run and took a 10-point lead, 28-18, with 8:23 left in the half. The Pioneers closed to with 32-29 at the 4:39 mark, but it was the Herd from that point on. Marshall started the second half with a 14-5 burst to lead, 59-40, and continued to pull away.
Marshall finished with a 66-32 edge in points in the paint, 36-4 in fast-break points and 56-21 margins in bench points.