— by David Walsh
Marshall went on an 11-0 run in the second half to go from down two to up 44-35 against Appalachian State on Thursday night at the Holmes Conference Center in Boone, N.C.
The Thundering Herd, now with the lead, kept the upper hand the final 14 minutes and knocked off the Mountaineers, 66-58, to complete a season sweep.
“Well it’s fun,” Herd coach Dan D’Antoni said. “They doubled the numbers (2,685 attendance). They did a lot of promotions. The good people want to see good ball. They know we’re coming into town. It is meaningful. If you can win against a team that’s won six of its last eight games, it’s a good win.”
Marshall (19-5, 8-3 Sun Belt Conference) played just over half the game without two starters as 7 foot-1 freshman Micah Handlogten and Obinna Anochili-Killen got into foul trouble and each finished with four fouls. Handlogten did pull down 11 rebounds.
“Early foul trouble. Long periods with guys on the bench,” D’Antoni said. “David (Early) gave us good minutes.”
Early logged 16 minutes and his three-point play with 14:03 left put Marshall ahead to stay, 38-35. Wyatt Fricks and Kamdyn Curfman capped off the difference-making 11-0 surge with back-to-back threes. Moments earlier, Taevion Kinsey had scored to get the Herd even at 35-35.
Andrew Taylor led Marshall with 21 points and Kinsey finished with 15. The Herd, 14th in the Sun Belt in foul shooting, converted 15-of-18 attempts Thursday night.
Appalachian State falls to 13-11, 6-5 in the league. Justin Abson led the Mountaineers with a career-high 16 points, blocked three shots and grabbed eight rebounds (ties career high). Terence Harcum added 14 points and Donovan Gregory 12.
The Herd’s win sets up a showdown for the league lead with Louisiana on Saturday night in Lafayette, La. Tip is 8 p.m. The Ragin’ Cajuns are tied for first in the Sun Belt with Southern Miss at 9-2. They won Thursday against Texas State, 82-63.
“This helps as the standings go,” D’Antoni said of the win and looking ahead. “Don’t worry about what they do. It’s what we do. Win all we can. One game at a time and the next one’s a big one.”
Marshall had the edge in points off turnovers, 19-9; second-chance points, 15-6; fast-break points, 14-4; and bench points, 14-7.
“Control the tempo,” Mountaineers coach Dustin Kerns said. “We wanted them to guard. They try to speed you up. They take so many quick shots. They don’t play offense very long. There’s a lot of long rebounds. That was a point of emphasis. They got us there, too.”
Taylor said it came down to getting the job done when it mattered.
“It’s a good road win,” Taylor said. “We came out a little flat, but picked it up. At the end we got in our stuff and put it away. Any time you play a team the second time it’s going to be harder. You do some things on the fly in this game. You’ve got to adapt.”
Kinsey cited the Herd’s ability to keep its cool at all times paid off, especially when the Mountaineers would make charges.
“We controlled most of the game pretty well,” the Sun Belt’s leading scorer said. “It was a physical battle, I’ll let you know that. We did what we do best. Played Marshall basketball. Moving” the ball, athletic ball. We want to run our transition. That’s what we did best in the second half. Got the rebound, kick the ball to the guards who are out. Everyone answered when called on. We didn’t get caught up in their game, focus on our game. In the second half we got the shots we wanted to take and can make.”
And now the focus shifts to Saturday and the battle for the Sun Belt lead.
“We know they’re a good team,” Kinsey said of the Ragin’ Cajuns. “This is a battle everybody wants to see in the Sun Belt. That’s not taking anything away from the other teams. The road trip is not over.”
Marshall is 6-3 in road games this season. The Herd had 13 offensive rebounds and converted them to 15 second-chance points. Handlogten has gotten at least 10 rebounds in 13 games. Kinsey and Taylor have each hit double figures in all 24 Herd games. Taylor has reached 20 or more nine times. Curfman saw a six-game streak of 10 or more points snapped as he finished with eight.
Kerns said his team made adjustments heading into the second meeting.
“The big guys early foul trouble was big,” he said. “We guarded the guys differently. Actions were different. Our zone was effective for a while.”
Curfman saw a six-game streak of 10 or more points snapped tonight as he tallied eight points.
Marshall and Appalachian State are former members in the Southern Conference. The Herd thus leads the overall series, 34-18.