The Marshall Thundering Herd made the trip to New Orleans in search of its first true road win of the season against Tulane, but came up empty handed as the Green Wave blew out the Herd 91-75.
Marshall jumped out to an early lead on a Nigel Spikes layup and would take the lead moments later with just over 16 minutes remaining in the first half, but that would be the Herd’s only lead of the game as the Green Wave would pull away by as many as 24 in the first half.
“I was thoroughly disappointed by our deplorable defense in the first 20 minutes,” said Marshall head coach Tom Herrion. “There was no fight. That’s very discouraging this time of year. We will not rebound or defend consistently.
Trailing by 24 at halftime, Marshall tried to make a comeback and clawed within 14 points, but that is as close as the Herd would get as the Green Wave would once again pull away.
En route to their blowout victory, the Green Wave won the battle on the boards 42-38 and had four players score in double figures. Tulane’s Josh Davis led the game in scoring, along with Marshall’s Elijah Pittman, with 23 points.
“We were playing uphill whole time. Tulane played well, but we contributed mightily, thoroughly and totally to this loss,” Herrion said.
Many times the final stats will tell the story of a game; however, this game is the exception. Both teams shot just below 47 percent from the field, and Tulane made just two more field goals than the Thundering Herd.
Tulane’s advantage came from behind the three point line and at the free throw stripe. The Green Wave shot 44 percent from long range making 11 three pointers. The Thundering Herd on the other hand shot just 7-28 from beyond the arc.
Marshall shot 64 percent from the free throw stripe, which is well above the Herd’s season average. However, Marshall’s 22 attempted free throws is equal the number made by Tulane. The Green Wave went 22-34 from the charity stripe.
Marshall had a pair of players record double-doubles in the loss with DeAndre Kane scoring 14 points and dishing out 11 assist. Kane was also just four rebounds away from his second triple-double of the season. Senior Dennis Tinnon also recorded a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
The Herd in now 0-8 in true road games, and just 1-11 in games played away from the Cam Henderson Center this season. The loss drops the Herd to 10-13 overall and 3-5 in Conference USA play. Marshall will remain on the road as the Herd will make the short trip from New Orleans to Birmingham to take on UAB.
Marshall will take on UAB on Saturday at 3 p.m. before returning home to take on Rice on Feb. 13.
— Jarrod Clay