HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Western Kentucky denied Marshall on its patented 3-point shot in the final 3.3 seconds and escaped with a Conference USA win, 69-67, over the Thundering Herd in a matinee Sunday at Cam Henderson Center.
Marshall’s Andy Taylor made one of two free throws with 4.2 seconds left to make it 69-67. He missed the second, but the ball went out on the Hilltoppers. After a timeout, the Herd went to Mikel Beyers for a trey, but he missed to give Western Kentucky the series sweep. The Hilltoppers won Friday, 81-73.
Jordan Rawls had converted two free throws with six seconds to go for a 69-66 Western Kentucky lead.
Beyers was the third option on that final look and the shot went the same way the Herd’s threes went in the second half. Miss after miss and a 2-for-17 performance (8-for-33 for the game compared o to 7-of-11 for the Hilltoppers).
The Herd improved in many areas compared to Friday night. Coach Dan D’Antoni noted how the squad had the edge on the bottom-line stats – points in the paint (26-24), turnovers (15-8), bench points (17-12), points off turnovers (14-6) and second-chance points (even at 9-9). The visitors had a 46-27 edge on the boards Friday night.
“Win the stats win the game I thought,” D’Antoni said. “You can’t shoot like we did. The disruption of games, the rhythm’s not there. A good ball club beat us.”
Taylor made 2-of-3 from behind the arc, but no one else on the team had made more than one.
“Got good shots. We can make them,” D’Antoni said. “The head’s down a little bit. I’m glad. There’s no quit in the old coach or these kids. We’ve got to start getting some Ws.”
Western Kentucky has now won five in a row in this series and 7 of the 9 last meetings overall. The Hilltoppers are 6-9 in Huntington now for a 20-12 overall series lead. This season they are 5-0 in games decided by three points or less.
Big man Charles Bassey (6-foot-11) led the Hilltoppers with 24 points and nine rebounds and Carson Williams added 16 points.
Western Kentucky (11-4, 4-2 in C-USA) is off to its best start since the 2007-08 season when the Hilltoppers reached the NCAA Sweet 16.
Taylor made 7-of-9 shots and finished with a season-high 17 points. Taevion Kinsey, the league’s top scorer coming into the game, added 16 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double. The Herd also enjoyed an 8-3 edge in blocked shots.
“I don’t like to lose to those guys,” Kinsey said. “We didn’t defend our house today. We’ll see ‘em down the road.”
Marshall (7-4, 1-3 C-USA) returns to action next weekend against Florida International in Miami.
“This will fuel us,” Kinsey said. “Watch film, see what we did wrong and correct the mistakes.”
Jannson Williams led the Herd Friday night with 19 points, including five threes. He had just five points Sunday, going 1-for-9 from behind the arc and 2-of-13 overall.
“Got to keep the chin up,” Taylor said. “A couple of guys missing shots. Keep shooting.”
About the Herd’s last-second shot, Taylor said, “Work should be done earlier to not be in that situation.”
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic and COVID-19 protocols, attendance was 1,274.
Kinsey drilled a half-court shot for a three at the buzzer to end the first half good for a 35-27 lead.
“Practice it (that shot) every day,” Kinsey said. “Told them let me see it (ball) and I’ll make it. We didn’t do enough to get the win tonight.”