DeAndre Kane scored a career high 26 points and the Herd out rebounded the Demon’s by 29 in a 83-61 win in front of 5,778 fans at The Cam Henderson Center.
Kane was effective and efficient from the floor shooting 10 of 18 and knocking down six of his nine free throw attempts.
“My teammates did a great job finding me, getting me the ball in good spots and I just made some shots today,” said Kane.
Yous Mbao had also had a career night pulling down nine boards. Justin Coleman and Dennis Tinnon each added eight rebounds as the team won the rebounding edge 59-30.
“I’m not sure I have been around a lot of teams that are plus 29 on the glass,” said Marshall head coach Tom Herrion. “That’s where you are playing hard.”
Marshall set the tempo early. On the first possession of the game Damier Pitts hit Robert Goff on an ally-oop dunk. Northwestern State’s Gary Roberson scored two quick buckets to take a 4-2 lead for the Demons. The Herd then rattled off 10 straight points, in 1:10, to take the lead back to 12-4. Marshall continued to build upon that throughout the first half as it took a 43-29 lead into the half behind Kane’s 15.
“I thought he [Kane] played within the offense so well tonight,” Herrion said. “Every drive was with purpose.”
Shaquille Johnson also chipped in with seven first half points in place of Pitts who picked up two quick fouls. Marshall dominated the boards in the first half with a 34-18 advantage.
“He is a rebounding coach [Herrion], he says any shot that goes up everybody has to crash the boards even the guards,” said Dennis Tinnon. “It was great tonight.”
Kane picked up where he left off in the first half with a quick layup to start the second half. Justin Coleman hit a jumper with 13:40 to play in the game to extended the Thundering Herds lead to 20 points. NSU responded with a 7-0 run before Kane put an end to that with three points the old fashion way at the 11:12 mark. The Herd carried at least a 15-point advantage throughout the rest of the half in route to an 83-61 win.
Marshall improved to 3-0 for the first time since the 2007 season. The team will take on UNC-Wilmington on November 22 for their first road contest of the season.