— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall plays its final non-Division I opponent of the season Wednesday as NAIA member Bluefield University pays a visit to the Henderson Center.
The game tips off at 7 p.m. and will be shown on ESPN+.
The Herd (5-3) is coming off of a 72-71 home win over Duquesne, while the Rams (8-3) last played December 4, beating Johnson University of Tennessee, 92-82.
Tonight’s game is an exhibition for Bluefield, but is a regular contest for Marshall and will count in the Herd’s record and statistics.
Marshall head coach Dan D’Antoni says he doesn’t pay attention to the level of his opponent, but expects Bluefield to be competitive against the Herd. He’s also hopeful that he gets to substitute often in the contest.
“We’re looking to get a lot more players in the game and see where everybody fits as we approach conference play,” D’Antoni said.
Marshall and Bluefield share a common opponent in Milligan University. Marshall topped Milligan 80-58 on November 15, while the Rams had the same result by an 80-68 margin on November 15.
D’Antoni says to expect a repeat of the starting lineup which proved successful in the Duquesne win. It featured guards Andrew Taylor, David Early and Taevion Kinsey and forwards Obinna Anochili-Killen and Darius George.
“That lineup gave us lots of options with its speed and picked up our overall pace,” D’Antoni said. Eventually, we developed some offensive rhythm and the shots started falling in the second half.”
Kinsey leads Marshall scorers with 21 points per game. Taylor, Anochili-Killen and George also average double-figure scoring.
Anochili-Killen is leading the Herd in rebounding with 7.4 per game and he’s blocked 37 shots in eight games.
Jeremiah Jenkins leads Bluefield with 21.5 points and 3.8 assists per contest this season. He has been named the Appalachian Athletic Conference Player of the Week three times.
Bluefield, led by head coach Richard Morgan in his 12th season, is averaging 79.9 points per game. Morgan has a 181-174 career record.
After tonight’s game, Marshall starts a two-game road swing with games Saturday at Eastern Kentucky and next Wednesday at Ohio.