— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Iran Bennett selected a good night to have a career game (to date) for the Marshall University men’s basketball team.
Bennett, 6-foot-9, 299-pound sophomore forward, hit for 21 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, both career highs, to lead the Thundering Herd past Eastern Kentucky, 90-72, in front of 5,057 fans at Cam Henderson Center.
Among that group was A.W. Hamilton, who is head coach for the Colonels, former Marshall basketball player and Bennett’s coach for two years at Hargrave Military Academy.
Marshall got the ball inside time and again and Bennett made the Colonels (3-8) play. Bennett’s key shot was with the left hand down low. He and Hamilton had chats before and after the game.
“I wanted to impress coach Hamilton,” Bennett told the media after the game. “Last year (at EKU) I fouled out. I was so angry. I wanted to get him.
“Repetition, practice with coach (Mark) Cline. Got to work, keep it going. It felt great out there. Feeding me the ball, I’m in the right places.”
Hamilton appreciated what Bennett has become, but not at Eastern Kentucky’s expense.
“Danny still owes me a couple of Christmas gifts,” Hamilton said of Marshall coach Dan D’Antoni. “He looked phenomenal. I think we won 90 games with him at Hargrave (two years). I was excited to get him here. I’m proud of him, just don’t do it against us. If he continues to play like that, they can win this league (Conference USA).”
Bennett got help from Taevion Kinsey with 19 points and 11 each from Darius George and Marko Sarenac (both off the bench).
Tre King led four Eastern Kentucky players in double figures with 15 points. The Colonels shot just 35.9 percent from the field.
Eastern Kentucky opened a 10-point lead (19-9) with 12:38 left in the first half. The Herd (5-6) certainly turned fortunes around, taking its biggest lead at 85-57 with 2:59 left.
“We came out shaky, didn’t make shots,” D’Antoni said. “In basketball, you’ve got to do that. Darius really started us off (two first-half threes). The thing is we shoot poorly we’re down eight instead of 18. Iran did his job, Kinsey in the second half and Jarrod. I’d hate to have to to play against that guy.
“We’ve got big men (Iran and Goran Miladinovic), muddle up things inside, length on the wings and Andrew (Taylor) and Jarrod. They had just seven assists. We cut out the ball movement. We made them take tough shots all night long. We can be a premier defensive team.”
Kinsey liked the way the Herd played hard from start to finish.
“We knew they weren’t going to quit,” Kinsey said. “Coach Dan told us teams that press don’t like to be pressed back. We were able to keep their primary ball handlers in trouble. We played their game against them.”
Marshall extended its winning streak to three. The Herd’s next game is Sunday at Northern Iowa. Tip is 2 p.m.
This was Hamilton’s first time inside Henderson Center since he graduated from Marshall in 2005. He played from 2002-05. He got a warm welcome from the Herd followers when the team was introduced.
“Been a long time since I’ve been in this room,” Hamilton said of the Marshall media room. “We’re up 10 and couldn’t capitalize. We’re really, really young. We couldn’t handle that punch in the second half. It was fun until they started beating us bad.
“What we’re doing is a rebuilding phase. It’s great to bring a team here. I’m proud of this team. They had fight to the end. They hit big shots, timely shots. I played hard (when he was at Marshall). That’s the type of community this is. This place taught me a lot.”
This was meeting No. 44 between Marshall and Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels lead the series, 23-21, but have lost three in a row. Their last win in Huntington was on March 3, 1965 (94-92).