— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall proved itself in the non-conference portion of its schedule by winning 11 of 13 games. Among the top highlights was a nine-game win streak and a 4-0 record against Mid-American Conference opponents, while the Herd suffered its only two losses in North Carolina to Queens in the season opener and then UNC-Greensboro when the win streak was stopped.
Now, after consecutive victories and following a 10-day Christmas break between games, the Herd is set to play its first Sun Belt Conference contest by hosting Appalachian State at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Cam Henderson Center.
The game can be seen on ESPN+.
Marshall wrapped up non-conference play on December 19 with a 99-73 home victory over Glenville State of the Mountain East Conference in Division II.
Herd veterans Taevion Kinsey and Andrew Taylor are first and third, respectively, in scoring in the Sun Belt Conference. Kinsey is averaging 21.2 points, while Taylor averages 19.5.
Guard Kamdyn Curfman also averages double figure scoring at 11.6 points. Kinsey’s average of 5.4 assists puts him second in the Sun Belt.
Handlogten is the Herd’s top rebounder with an average of 11 and his 143 rebounds are No. 4 nationally. Handlogten’s recorded seven double-figure rebounding games and four double-doubles.
Marshall is shooting nearly 47 percent from the field as a team, but has made only 63.8 percent of its free-throw attempts.
The Mountaineers (7-6) are coming off of a 61-50 loss to UC-Santa Barbara on December 21 in the Jerry Colangelo Classic in Phoenix.
The Mountaineers are coached by Dustin Kerns, who is in his fourth season at ASU. He has a 61-48 record at Appalachian State and a 92-85 overall record. Kerns was also head coach for two seasons at Presbyterian, and his last game there was a loss to Marshall in the quarterfinals of the 2019 CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
Thursday’s game marks a battle of two of the nation’s best shot blockers in 7-foot-1 Marshall freshman Micah Handlogten and Appalachian State freshman forward Justin Abson. Handlogten is No. 7 nationally with 34 blocks, while the 6-9 Abson is 14th nationally with 31 blocks.
Senior guard Donovan Gregory is the Mountaineers’ scoring leader with a 12.3 average. Gregory is also tops on ASU in assists (46) and steals (20). Graduate student Tyree Boykin averages 10.8 points in a reserve role and orward CJ Huntley is the top rebounder at 6.1 per game.
Appalachian State’s most high-profile win this season came on November 15 when the Mountaineers won 61-60 at Louisville.
ASU nearly had another victory over an Atlantic Coast Conference member in Wake Forest, but suffered a 67-66 loss on a buzzer-beater in the December 14 matchup.
Marshall has won 32 of 50 previous meetings with Appalachian State, though the last time the two teams battled was in 2010 when the Mountaineers won 80-72 in Huntington as part of the CIT.
After Thursday’s game, the Herd remains home to host James Madison in another Sun Belt contest on Saturday afternoon.
Notes: Kinsey is the only player in the country averaging at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists … Marshall is averaging an NCAA-best 15.54 offensive rebounds and ranks second with 43.7 rebounds on average … Thursday will mark the 2,500th game in the history of Appalachian State’s men’s basketball program. The Mountaineers began play in the 1919-1920 season … Former West Virginia University sharpshooter Frank Young is an assistant coach for Appalachian State.