— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Taevion Kinsey’s back-to-back dunks gave Marshall the lead for good with less than 5 minutes to play, and then he sank two clutch free throws with 1.8 seconds left to send the Thundering Herd past Old Dominion, 67-63, Thursday night in Conference USA action at Cam Henderson Center.
Kinsey’s first dunk with 5:08 left broke a 56-all tie and put Marshall (10-16, 3-10 C-USA) up two. He followed with a slam with 3:57 on the clock for a 60-56 advantage and the Monarchs then had to play catchup — and couldn’t.
Counting the Herd’s win Sunday at UTEP, this is the team’s first two-game win streak since December 8 and 11 (Bluefield and Eastern Kentucky).
“Proud of the kids,” Marshall coach Dan D’Antoni said. “I’m happy for them. They want to play good in front of this crowd, give them something to cheer about.” Attendance was 3,867.
Marko Sarenac came off the bench and led the Herd with a career-high 16 points. He had four of the team’s 10 three-pointers. Kinsey added 15 points, Mikel Beyers 12, and Andrew Taylor 10. The Herd won bench points 17-5 and points off turnovers 14-5.
C.J. Keyser led Old Dominion (10-16, 5-8 C-USA) with 21 points. Austin Trice had 14 and 19 rebounds for a double-double. Mekhi Long finished with 11. ODU finished 25-of-65 for 38.5 percent and just 3-of-14 from behind the arc (21.4 percent).
“Look at those numbers, pretty good offensively,” D’Antoni said. “Close enough for us to win ball games. Like to get the three-point to 39- or 40-percent. Got to get the twos up to 45-46 (percent). I’d like to get it over 50. Those (ODU) numbers mean our defense was pretty good. Pulled it out at the end. They play a different game than we do. They grind and we can do that.”
Sarenac said shooting this night was a carryover from practice.
“Same type of shot in practice,” he said. “That’s my job for this team. This time I made them. The more confident you are the more you make. This helps out confidence a lot. It could be a turning point for us. We’re fitting together.”
Kinsey’s postgame chat was quite different from last week after a home loss to Florida International. He more or less called everyone out last Thursday as the Herd absorbed its 13th defeat in 14 games. This time it was the other way around as the Herd exchanged bumps with the physical Monarchs, who won the first meeting, 79-64.
“Been playing as a team. That’s all it really is,” Kinsey said. “Marko, really proud of him. He came in with a lot of energy.
“Give them a taste of their own medicine. Definitely been physical. Sparks a fire. Someone has to be the fire starter. Got to keep the first going.”
ODU came in off a big win Sunday at home against UAB.
Marshall’s next game is Saturday at home against Charlotte. Tip is 7 p.m. Charlotte lost at Western Kentucky, 77-67, Thursday night.
Marshall has 21 triples in its two-game win streak. The Herd hit 11 at UTEP.
“Mini-roll,” D’Antoni said, “but it’s a roll.”