— By David Walsh
Marshall picked an ideal time to end a seven-game losing streak.
The Thundering Herd, which had struggled shooting from the field in this skid, found the mark Thursday night behind Kevon Voyles and Kamdyn Curfman.
Both players finished with 30 points for career highs to propel the No. 10 seed past No. 7 Georgia State, 86-74, in second-round Sun Belt Conference Tournament action in front of 1,207 fans in the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla.
It’s the Herd’s first SBC Tournament win after it went out in the first round a year ago. The result assures Marshall at least another game this season.
“Confidence is a mojo thing,” Curfman, the top three-point shooter in the SBC, said in the post-game press conference. “Play the game. Confidence is half the battle. Make plays down the stretch.”
“Good win, good time to do it,” Marshall coach Dan D’Antoni said. “The guys beside me did a lot to make that happen.”
Curfman, who’d experienced some tough shooting nights of late, came out on fire. He made 10-of-17 shots including 9-of-12 from behind the arc. Voyles converted 12-of-24 shots with 4-of-9 from three. As a team, the Herd connected on 31-of-69 shots and 14-of-29 from three.
“A couple I didn’t think would go in” Curfman said. “Shooters shoot. I think every shot should go in.
“I believe in this team,” Voyles said. “Every time they made a run, we had an answer. Play Marshall basketball.”
Marshall will meet No. 2 seed James Madison in the quarterfinals Saturday at 8:30 p.m. The Dukes had a double bye and went 2-0 against the Herd in the regular season.
Nate Martin led Marshall on the boards with 14 rebounds. Obinna Anochili-Killen blocked three shots to move into No. 2 all-time in shot blocks with 184. He passed Hassan Whiteside, who played in the NBA from 2010-11 to 2021-22.
Marshall (13-19) and Georgia State (14-17) had split in the regular season. D’Antoni liked the way his team played defense this time around.
“They shoot the ball well,” D’Antoni said. “Stay alert on defense. We did better than last time. Face up. We didn’t give them second shots.”
Marshall sprinted to an early 19-5 lead. The Panthers cut the margin to 41-36 at the break. Midway through the second half, the Herd got the margin to 10 and kept it in double figures the rest of the game.
Lucas Taylor led Georgia State with 20 points. Toneari Lane had 19 and Leslie Nkereuwem 17.
Marshall leads the series with the Panthers, 4-1. They entered the game 14-6 in SBC Tournament play since entering the league in 2013-14.
Georgia Southern, Louisiana and Texas State won earlier games Thursday.
In the earlier quarterfinal games Saturday, No. 1 Appalachian State meets No. 9 Georgia Southern, No. 4 Arkansas State meets No. 5 Louisiana and No. 3 Troy takes on No. 11 Texas State.