— By David Walsh
MOREHEAD, Ky. — Darius George came off the bench to score 16 points to lead five Marshall players in double figures as the Thundering Herd romped past Morehead State 89-62 on Monday night.
It marked the first time Marshall has beaten the Eagles at home for the first time since Nov. 29, 2006. Marshall retains possession of the Ellis Johnson Trophy which goes to the winner of the game between the Interstate 64 rivals. Johnson coached at both schools and Morehead State’s arena is named after him.
This was also the 100th career win for Marshall head coach Dan D’Antoni.
In addition to the balanced attack, the big news for the Herd was the showing by transfer Andrew Taylor. The Furman transfer finished with 13 points and made 3-of-8 free 3-point range in his first game with the Herd. Taylor also had three assists, three steals and three rebounds in nearly 18 months.
Iran Bennett added 14 points for Marshall (4-6), which pulled away early on an 18-2 run and led 45-28 at halftime. Jarrod West added 11 along with a career-best eight assists. Taevion Kinsey netted 11.
“This group (Morehead State) always gives us trouble. They just shellacked us a couple of years ago when we won an NCAA Tournament game,” D’Antoni said. “They play hard and have good coaching, but our kids are starting to mature a little bit. Then you add Andy in there who gives us more ball handling on the floor to run our offense.
“We shot 37 percent on threes and 45 from the field. We can get better than that, but the hallmark of this team is going to be defense.”
Djimon Henson paced the Eagles (5-6) with 23 points to match his career high. Jordan Walker added 15 points.
Marshall came out firing to start. The Herd had four runs of at least seven points in the opening half of play, including an 18-2 run that spanned from 14:57 to 9:28.
Marshall took its largest lead of the half at 43-24 after an 8-0 run with a layup by Jannson Williams and two 3s from freshman Marko Sarenac 1:41 before halftime.
Marshall continued its hot shooting in the second half by starting out with a 13-2 run capped off by a steal and dunk by Taylor to give the Herd its largest lead of the game at 58-30.
Monday night’s win was just the third for Herd at Morehead State since 1995 and first road win overall.
This was Morehead State’s first game since Dec. 7.
Notes & Next
Marshall’s 11 turnovers tied with its 11 at Florida on Nov. 29 for the fewest in a game this season. The Herd hit 10 3-pointers to tie for the most in a game this season with the 10 made at Toledo on Dec. 8 … Marshall now leads the all-time series against Morehead State, 54-47 … Marshall returns home Thursday to face Eastern Kentucky, also an Ohio Valley Conference member. Tip at Cam Henderson Center is 7 p.m.