— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall suffered an uncharacteristic poor performance on its home floor Thursday night, resulting in an 86-82 double overtime loss to Louisiana-Monroe.
The Herd hopes to avoid a repeat performance Saturday nigh when it hosts Georgia State at the Cam Henderson Center. The first meeting between the two teams starts at 7 p.m. game and will be shown on ESPN+.
Marshall (17-5, 6-3) is now tied with Louisiana-Monroe for third place in the Sun Belt Conference standings. Louisiana and Southern Miss are tied in first place in the league after both won on Thursday.
Georgia State (9-12, 2-7) lost on Thursday at Appalachian State, 71-59. The Panthers are near the bottom of the Sun Belt standings, tied with South Alabama and a game ahead of last-place Arkansas State.
Marshall head coach Dan D’Antoni was visibly upset with his team’s Thursday night effort, especially as it pertained to defensive intensity and rebounding. The Herd was out-rebounded by the oppisition for a third consecutive game.
“We have to learn how to play as the hunted, not the hunter,” D’Antoni said. “We’ll regroup, work on mistakes and come back with a much better focus.”
Georgia State is coached by Jonas Hayes, a University of Georgia grad who is in his first season in Atlanta. Hayes led Xavier on an interim basis at the end of the 2021-22 season, guiding the Musketeers to a spot in the NIT.
Four Panthers average scoring in double-figures — sophomore guard and Xavier transfer Dwon Odom (14.2 ppg), junior guard Brenden Tucker (12.5 ppg), sophomore guard Collin Moore (12.3 ppg) and sophomore forward Ja’Heim Hudson (10.7 ppg). Hudson is also the Panthers’ top rebounder with 7.4 per game.
After Saturday’s game, Marshall is on the road for a two-week, four-game trip which begins Thursday night at Appalachian State. The Herd also visits Coastal Carolina, Louisiana and Georgia State on the road trip.