— By Bill Cornwell
In search of a 10th straight win Tuesday night, Marshall wraps up a three-game road trip at UNC Greensboro.
The 7 p.m. matchup at Greensboro Coliseum will be shown by ESPN+.
Marshall won its ninth consecutive contest Saturday night when the Herd used a strong defensive showing to beat Robert Morris, 69-60. The victory had several offensive high notes, including a 26-point performance by senior guard Taevion Kinsey. He was joined in double figures by junior guards Andrew Taylor (15 points) and Kamdyn Curfman (10 points). Freshman center Micah Handlogten led MU with 13 rebounds.
The primary negative against RMU were 22 turnovers committed by Marshall, including seven by Taylor. The Herd also shot poorly on 3-pointers at 5 for 19.
“Way too many turnovers and not a pretty game,” D’Antoni said. “We were tired and made mental mistakes, but that happens when you play three games in six days.”
D’Antoni was pleased with his team’s defensive performance as it held Robert Morris to a 36.9 percent shooting effort, including 11.8 percent (2 of 17) from behind the 3-point line. Marshall also forced 15 Colonial turnovers.
The Herd now faces UNC Greensboro, which is coming off a 65-58 road loss last Tuesday at No. 9 Arkansas.
The Spartans (4-6) have picked up wins over Johnson and Wales, UMBC, Elon and Montana State. Other than to Arkansas, losses have come against Miami, Hofstra, North Carolina A&T, Towson and Stephen F. Austin.
Mike Jones is in his second year as UNCG’s head coach and has a 21-21 record. He previously was the head coach at Radford, where he worked for 10 seasons.
The Spartans are led in scoring by graduate guard/forward Keondre Kennedy, who averages 13.9 points. He’s joined in double-figure scoring by senior guard Keyshawn Langley (11.3 ppg) and junior forward Mikeal Brown-Jones (10.3 ppg).
Kennedy also leads UNCG in rebounding with an average of 6.6. He’s followed closely by graduate forward Mohammed Abdulsalam’s 6.1 boards per contest.
The Spartans are shooting 39.4 percent from the field, 30 percent from the 3-point line and nearly 72 percent from the foul line.
Kinsey and Taylor continue to lead Marshall in scoring, with Kinsey topping the Herd at 20.9 points per game. Taylor averages 18.8 and Curfman also averages double figures at 11.6
Handlogten continues to impress early in his college career as he leads Marshall with 10.8 rebounds per game. He’s also the squad leader in blocks with 27.
The Herd’s shooting slightly better than 47 percent as a team, including 33 percent from the 3-point line and 64 percent from the free throw line.
UNCG, a Southern Conference member, has faced Marshall once. The game took place in November 2006 in Huntington and the Herd picked up an 82-80 victory over the Spartans.