— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The No. 1 team in Conference USA West in UAB was in town and there was no Taevion Kinsey for Marshall, the leading scorer for the last-place team in C-USA East on a 10-game losing streak. He would miss his first game in a Marshall uniform due to a foot injury.
No problem for UAB then, right?
Wrong.
Marshall got an inspirational effort from Mikel Beyers, head-turning effort from Obinna Anochili-Killen and a typical night from point guard Andrew Taylor and throw in what the reserves did, the Thundering Herd held off and stunned the Blazers, 84-81, in front of 4,233 fans at Cam Henderson Center.
UAB trailed 81-70 with 2:18 left on a dunk by Beyers, who started in place of Kinsey, the league’s top scorer at 20 points a game.
The Blazers pulled within two at 81-79 on a layup by Jordan Walker with 16 seconds left. UAB then fouled Beyers with 13 seconds to play and Beyers made the first free throw, but missed the second to give the visitors a shot to tie with a three.
Jamal Johnson took that three with six seconds left, missed, got the rebound and missed again with two seconds left and the Blazers had a four-game win streak end and were left to wonder what happened.
Herd fans and coaches watched the Herd this night finish and not let one get away like it had done several times during the skid.
“We almost found a way again,” Herd coach Dan D’Antoni said. “We squandered things and took it down to the end to make it exciting. We had a bigger lead. That’s the type of team we are. If we get smarter, we stay on top of everybody. It puts us in every game. Got to cut out the mistakes. We make a lot of risky plays and I don’t know where they come from.”
Anochili-Killen had a monster game with 23 points to tie his career high (11-of-15 from two) and 11 rebounds for a double-double. Beyers stepped up in deluxe fashion with a season-high 19 points. Taylor finished with 12 along with six rebounds and seven assists and Kyle Braun netted a career-best 11.
Marshall (8-13, 1-7 C-USA) made 34-of-62 shots (8 of 24 from three) and connected on 8-of-10 free throws. The Herd also got a big assist from Kinsey in a cheerleader role.
“We talked about it,” Anochili-Killen said in referring to a chat the team had Friday led by Kinsey. “He said leave it on the floor, start something new. Sadly he couldn’t play. This was for him. He gave the energy as a leader.”
Walker paced UAB (17-5, 7-2 C-USA) with 23 points and eight assists. Quan Jackson totaled 17 and K.J. Buffen with 12. The Blazers shot 29-of-62 (6-of-27 from three) and hit 17-of-18 from the foul line. They had just one three on 11 tries in the first half and the Herd took a 41-30 lead. They did have a 26-8 advantage on points off turnovers.
D’Antoni said he was so happy to see Beyers respond with all he’s been through of late. For one three-game stretch, he sat.
“I’ve benched him, had him over here, over there,” D’Antoni said. “He never waivers coming out doing the best he can. I appreciate today because he was a big part of us winning.”
“It’s a huge monkey off our back, weight off our shoulders,” Beyers said. “Probably the best game I’ve been a part of since I’ve been at Marshall. The last two minutes felt like an eternity. It was make sure they don’t get a solid look at a three. That last one was close.”
Beyers said the team learned via a Kinsey text at about noon he would not play.
“Gave us time to adjust,” Beyers said. “Next man up. We took care of business.”
Marshall returns to action Thursday against Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va. Tip is 8 p.m. and the game’s on CBS Sports Network. The road trip continues Saturday at Charlotte at 4 p.m.
“I’m proud of them,” D’Antoni said of his players. “Andy had a big game, but I expect that from him. Obinna had a nice game, but nothing to brag about because I expect that. He’s that good.
“I don’t think this team ever thought they couldn’t win. They could. I thought they did a great job until the end. I really believe in this team. We’ve got a chance against anybody we play.”
On Saturday, former Herd players gathered for a reunion. D’Antoni said one, Bill James, is the first player he signed while freshman coach and this was the first time the two had met since the playing days.
“What I want to create,” D’Antoni said. “These guys enjoy playing here, they love Marshall and want to be good alumni. This will grow.”
UAB leads the overall series 22-9 with a 10-5 mark in Huntington now.