— By David Walsh
Marshall’s adjusted defense kept Eastern Kentucky from playing its patented game and the offense got its usual production, allowing the Thundering Herd to power past the Colonels, 80-69, Saturday night in front of 4,071 fans at McBrayer Arena in Richmond, Ky.
Eastern Kentucky’s trademarks are three-point shooting (average 36 attempts per game) and press defense and the Herd negated the Colonels in both areas even though it had 22 turnovers. Coming in the Atlantic Sun Conference member had attempted 362 threes (second in the nation) and had 98 steals (11th in the nation).
“We switched everything, played differently than normal,” Herd coach Dan D’Antoni said. “We didn’t want to give up threes. The ones they got were rushed.
“I think they shot 17 in the first half and I believe they made three. That makes you start thinking a little bit. Maybe you need to get to the rim to get better shots. We’ve got Obinna (Anochili-Killen) back there. We’ve got some length. It’s hard to finish when you’ve got size back there.”
Eastern Kentucky (5-6) went 3-of-17 from behind the arc in the first half as the Herd led 38-35 at the break. The Colonels made just 2-of-9 in the second half so scoring 25 points off Marshall turnovers didn’t prove that significant.
Marshall (7-3) started the second half on an 8-0 run for 46-35 lead with 16:54 left. The Colonels got no closer than nine the rest of the way. At one point, the Herd lead swelled to 20 (67-47) with 7:49 left on the clock.
Marshall got the usual production from leading scorer Taevion Kinsey and double-doubles from Darius George and point guard Andrew Taylor. Kinsey finished with 21 points. George had 13 points and career-high 12 rebounds. Taylor’s stats read 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
Obinna Anochili-Killen contributed 10 points and showed his presence near the rim with six blocks to bring his season total to 50. Kinsey, Anochili-Killen and David Early each had seven boards as the Herd enjoyed a 53-30 edge in the board battle.
“Darius George’s the most athletic guy on the floor,” D’Antoni said. “When the floor’s open, he’s best. A perfect game for him. The guy was the motor.”
Taylor’s night is what D’Antoni’s used to seeing.
“A pretty good night,” D’Antoni said. “You don’t realize how fast he is. He took care of the basketball pretty good.”
Jomaru Brown led Eastern Kentucky with a game-high 23 points along with six steals. Russhard Cruickshank added 11 points and Devontae Blanton 10. Cooper Robb led in rebounds with 11.
Taylor took delight in the outcome as he played high school ball at Corbin High in Corbin, Ky. He’s familiar with several players on the EKU roster.
“It was a good game to get back in the groove,” Taylor said. “They’re used to being able to press teams and they don’t have to play defense as long. Attack it and find holes. In the second half, we got the spacing correct and found holes in the press. Guard us full court and get open.”
The pregame talk centered around the Marshall connection with Eastern Kentucky as Colonels coach A.W. Hamilton is a Marshall graduate and two Colonels are transfers from Marshall after last season. They are Jannson Williams and Iran Bennett.
Williams, who averaged 12 points a game, had just seven and three rebounds in 30 minutes. Hamilton is now 0-3 against the Herd.
“I’m happy he’s still able to do what he does,” Taylor said of Williams. “Keep it going.”
“It was a great moment,” George said. “Wish him the best of luck the rest of the season.”
Eastern Kentucky’s overall series lead is now 23-22.
Marshall’s next game is Wednesday against former Mid-American Conference rival Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Start time at the Convocation Center is 7 p.m.