— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Sophomore Taevion Kinsey scored on a layup with 3:06 left in the game to put Marshall ahead for good and the Thundering Herd went on to defeat Robert Morris, 67-60, in the season opener for both teams Thursday night in Cam Henderson Center.
The game was part of the 2019 Men Against Breast Cancer (MABC) Invitational. Attendance was 5,530.
Kinsey’s layup was part of an 8-0 run by Marshall that was capped by a dunk from Cam Brooks-Harris for a 64-58 lead. Forward A.J. Bramah ended the dry spell for the Colonials with a tip-in with 43 seconds left. The Herd got its final three points on two free throws from Jarrod West and one from Harris.
West, junior and three-year starter at guard, led Marshall with 20 points. Kinsey finished with 12 and Mikel Beyers 11.
“I have no idea how good we can be or are right now,” Herd coach Dan D’Antoni said after the game. “We’ve competed against ourselves, but until you put it on the floor against other people and we get to see it, you just don’t know. I think I like what I see and I hope that comes to fruition.”
Yannis Mendy hit for 14 points for the Colonials, who trailed 33-27 at halftime. Mendy drilled 7-of-8 shots. Josh Williams connected on four 3-pointers for Robert Morris on the way to 13 points. Bramah finished with 11.
“Our effort was good enough to win but our detail wasn’t,” Colonials head coach Andrew Toole said. “I thought we did a good job of controlling the tempo of the game, but we just needed a couple of stronger, tougher decisions on the offensive end. Credit Marshall. They really raised their defensive intensity down the stretch.”
Marshall’s biggest lead came at 28-16 when West made a jumper at the 5:46 mark.
Williams scored for the Colonials at the 18:51 mark in the second half to go over 1,000 points for his career.
The Herd had a 36-26 edge in points in the paint and 8-0 in fast break points.
Marshall’s next game is Sunday afternoon at home against Toledo. Game time is 2 p.m. ESPN3 will air the game.
Robert Morris, a member of the Northeastern Conference, visits Notre Dame on Saturday. Both games are part of the MABC Invitational presented by FieldTurf.