— By David Walsh
Taevion Kinsey’s dunk with 3:32 left in the game broke a 79-79 tie and propelled Marshall past James Madison, 92-83, in Sun Belt Conference play Wednesday night in front of 4,688 fans at the Atlantic Bank Union Center.
Kinsey’s dunk sparked the Thundering Herd on a closing 13-4 run for the win that moves it into a share of first place in the SBC with Southern Miss.
“The winners were the fans,” Herd head coach Dan D’Antoni said. “That was a fun game to watch and coach. Got the breaks a little at the end and got it done.”
Southern Miss lost at Old Dominion on Wednesday, 69-64, leaving the Golden Eagles and Herd with 13-4 league records.
Marshall (24-6) wraps up the regular season Friday at Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va. Tip is 7 p.m. Southern Miss visits Texas State. If both teams win, they would be co-regular season champions in the Sun Belt and the Herd would get the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament via the tiebreaker as Marshall won the only regular season meeting between the two teams. A Southern Miss win and Herd loss would give the Eagles the No. 1 seed and Marshall No. 2.
Kinsey enjoyed the fact the Herd prevailed in a tough atmosphere Wednesday. The Herd closed with a 7-0 run the last 58 seconds as the Dukes made just one of their last seven shots.
“For me that’s the most fun game I’ve ever played in,” Kinsey said. “Obviously it was a great game. We did the right things at the end. This is a hard place to win.
“We did what we like to do best. We played Marshall basketball. We played great as a team. We fought through adversity. We got downhill like we wanted to.”
Kinsey finished with 31 points and made 13-of-16 free throws. Teammate Andrew Taylor added 19 points (no threes, but nine rebounds). Obinna Anochili-Killen added 12 points, nine rebounds and team-high three blocks despite battling foul issues.
“Defense. That was the main focus,” Kinsey said. “That’s either won us or lost us the games. Southern Miss loses and we’re tied for first. Wow.”
Terrence Edwards came off the bench to lead the Dukes with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Takal Molson contributed 16 points, Julien Wooden 14 and Vado Morse 12 in the loss.
Marshall led in points in the paint 46-32, fast break points 33-21, points off turnovers 15-8 and rebounds, 41-40.
Kinsey passed Skip Henderson for No. 2 in career points with 2,601. The leader is Jon Elmore with 2,638.
“I’ve always thought about winning,” Kinsey said. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without God and my team.”
“Taevion’s just a special person,” D’Antoni said. “Records are meant to be broken. It’s all good.”
D’Antoni was happy to see Anochili-Killen rise to the occasion.
“Made free throws and blocked a ton of shots,” the coach said. “Probably the best game’s he had. Kudos to him. He was his old self. Andy and Taevion just super good.”
Taylor said the crowd noise late reminded him of the noise Herd fans make at the Cam Henderson Center.
“Place got pretty loud,” he said. “I’m proud of the way we handled the environment. We won’t change anything. Keep the foot on the gas, listen to the coach’s game plan and go from there.”
Marshall beat Old Dominion, 73-65, at home on January 14. For the Monarchs, the rematch will represent their Senior Night.
“No pressure at all,” Kinsey said. “We’ve played through everything. Walk in with energy. The motto is 1-0. We know more’s at stake. Gives us more confidence to get the job done.”
“We have to do it again,” D’Antoni said. “It does mean a lot. So much is involved in winning. They’re playing better now. It’s going to be a battle. We’ll have to have an unbelievable effort and see how it works out. Would be nice to go in the No. 1 seed.”
Marshall will enter Friday’s matchup on a five-game win streak. The Herd ended a four-game skid against the Dukes in this series.
James Madison (20-6, 11-6 SBC) billed Wednesday’s game as a Whiteout.