— by David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Taevion Kinsey and Andrew Taylor reached milestones Monday night and helped power Marshall past Tennessee Tech, 91-65, at Cam Henderson Center.
Kinsey, guard from Columbus, led the Thundering Herd (1-1) with 28 points to pass Walt Walowac and move into No. 4 on the all-time scoring with 1,986 points. Kinsey made 13-of-19 shots from the field and dished out seven assists. Walowac had 1,982 points in his career in the early 1950s.
Taylor, guard from Corbin, Ky,, finished with 17 point to surpass 1,000 for his career. Kamdyn Curfman, a transfer from VMI, added 10 points. Kinsey and Taylor got nice ovations from the crowd of 4,240 when they departed in the second half.
‘’It’s easier to coach out of a win than a loss,” Herd coach Dan D’Antoni said, referring to the team’s 83-82 loss to Queens last Monday in Charlotte. “Basically the effort was good.”
Wyatt Fricks, a redshirt freshman, and freshmen Jacob Conner and 7-foot-1 Micah Handlogten led in rebounds with eight each and the Herd enjoyed a 48-30 edge on the boards.
Jaylen Seebree finished with 14 points to lead the Golden Eagles (1-2). Jayvis Harvey added 13 and Eric Oliver 10. Seebree knows about Herd basketball as he played two years at Florida Atlantic and two at Morehead State.
When Curfman nailed a 3-pointer with 1:30 left in the first half, the Herd took its biggest lead at 43-25.
Marshall continued to expand the margin in the second half. Taylor’s layup with 8:05 left made it 81-57 Herd. Kinsey hit a jumper to make it 88-59 with 2:44 to play. The biggest spread came at 30 when David Early made a trey for a 91-61 advantage with 2:16 to play.
The Herd enjoyed a 28-14 margin in assists.
“Ball movement was good,” D’Antoni said. “This team is coming together. The staff makes sure they are bonding on the floor. Keep coming. It’s going to be exciting basketball.”
The one-two punch provided by Kinsey and Taylor is no surprise to anyone. Kinsey was a first-team pick on the All-Sun Belt Conference Preseason Team.
“We depend on those two a lot,” D’Antoni said. “They’re the heart and soul of this team. They have to be.”
D’Antoni likes the progress made by Fricks, Conner and Handlogten.
“They’re very long,” D’Antoni said . “They’re fluid and athletic. It’s get in and get better.”
Marshall made 39-of-79 shots (49 percent) and hit 10 threes. Tennessee Tech of the Ohio Valley Conference converted 26-of-59 shots (44 percent) and had six threes.
Tennessee Tech coach John Pelphrey is familiar to Marshall fans. He played at Paintsville High School (Mr. Basketball in Kentucky in 1987), the University of Kentucky and served as assistant coach to Billy Donovan for two years with the Herd.
Marshall now leads the all-time series 4-1. The first four meetings happened between 1950-52.
Marshall’s next game is Thursday against former Mid-American Conference rival Miami Ohio in Oxford. Start time is 7 p.m.