— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The Marshall men’s basketball team experienced something Saturday afternoon it hadn’t gone through in quite some time.
James Madison played physical from the outset and the Thundering Herd didn’t handle it until it was too late. The Dukes took a double-digit lead late into the second half and did enough at the end to defeat the Herd, 72-66, in Sun Belt Conference play in front of 4,508 fans at Cam Henderson Center.
“We came out soft. Got bullied the whole game,” the Herd’s Taevion Kinsey said. “Got to man up in intensity. The ball movement was not what it has been. We got stagnant. They are a championship team and we are, too. We’ve got to show it.”
James Madison (11-4, 2-0 Sun Belt) completed a two-game sweep to open league play. The Dukes won at Georgia State on Thursday night.
Marshall (12-3, 1-1 Sun Belt) had its home win streak end at nine in a row.
“They were very physical and we hadn’t experienced that before,” Marshall coach Dan D’Antoni said. “They pushed us out and we didn’t push back. We were too far down to comeback against a team like that.”
Marshall started the game on a 7-0 run. Noah Friedel made two free throws with 11:04 left on the clock to give the Dukes their first lead at 17-15. It was the start of a 10-0 run for a 25-15 lead. Freidel hit a three-pointer to make it 39-29 with 1:57 on the clock. Mezie Offurum connected on free throw to make it 40-29 at the half.
In the second half, Offurum made two free throws for a 46-33 lead with 15:51 left. That’s when the Herd started its comeback. Micah Handlogten, the team’s 7-foot-1 freshman center, scored on a layup with 10:53 to play to give Marshall its first lead in some time, 49-48, and get the home crowd roaring its approval. The team’s traded points, then Xavier Brown’s jumper put the Dukes ahead to stay, 53-51. Terrence Edwards got a basket with 1:56 to make it 69-60 for them. The Herd closed to within 70-65 with 44 seconds to play, but the Dukes held on.
“Mental mistakes. It was the fault on our side,” Kinsey said. “I take full responsibility. I’ve got to step up and be a leader for our guys to see. I struggle with confidence (on free throws). There’s no reason for that.”
D’Antoni said recovering from big deficits can take a toll.
“Can’t come out soft,” he said. “That’s the risk you run when you play so hard to get back. We missed some shots. Were you tired or would you miss regardless? It’s mental focus. You learn this in big games. They gave us opportunities.
“They were disruptive, more physical. They got into us. Got to hold your lane. They’ll call a foul. If you don’t, it makes it miserable for you.”
James Madison’s depth showed as well. Seven of the nine players logged 20 or more minutes. Two others played 17:33 and 15:57. That contributed to the Dukes with a 38-5 edge in bench points (No. 2 in the nation with a 37.14 average).
The Herd’s reserve points were three by David Early and two by Goran Miladinovic. Kinsey led the way with 18 points and Andrew Taylor and Obinna Anochili-Killen added 16 each. Handlogten pulled down 10 rebounds.
Edwards, a starter, led the Dukes with 16 points and Offurum, another starter, had 11. Freidel had 14 and Xavier Brown 11, both off the bench.
“They play a lot of guys. We knew they played 11,” D’Antoni said. “The timing they have is impressive. They sure know what to do with their time.”
Both sides struggled at the foul line. The Dukes made 11-of-23 with several misses late allowing the Herd chances to rally. However, the home team converted just 10-of-21.
“We’ll grow up from this,” Taylor said. “Me and Tae (Kinsey) have to step up. We’ll watch film, see what happened and fix it.”
The Herd’s next game is Jan. 5 at Georgia Southern. James Madison leads the series with the Herd, 4-1, with four straight wins.