— By David Walsh
Marshall closed out the non-conference part of its 2024-25 schedule with zero wins on the road.
Elon led practically from start to finish and defeated the Thundering Herd, 73-59, Saturday night in front of 1,956 fans at the Schar Center in Burlington, N.C.
Marshall (7-7) saw its road mark drop to 0-5 outside the Sun Belt Conference and 0-6 with its league loss last Saturday at Southern Miss. The next chance for a win outside Huntington isn’t until January 16 at James Madison.
Marshall’s problem again, not counting Mikal Dawson, was shooting. The Herd made just 21-of-68 shots overall and 6-of-30 from behind the arc. Dawson netted 24 with 8-of-14 shooting including 5-of-9 from three. Obinna Anochili-Killen added 16 before he fouled out with 1:50 left.
“I was pleased with the execution. We executed the game plan well,” first-year Herd coach Corny Jackson said. “We can’t shoot 6 of 30 (threes). We guarded them well enough to win the game. The big concern coming in was their length. They out-rebound us 42-38, we have 18 on offense (12 for Phoenix). It’s about making plays, making shots. I’m not disappointed in the loss. We’ve got a long road ahead of us in the Sun Belt.”
With 14:13 left, Dawson converted a three-point play to get the Herd within four (42-38). From that point, the Phoenix (9-4) just engaged in a steady pullaway led by Nick Dorn. He finished with a career-high 29 points. He made 9-of-15 shots with 6-of-10 from three. T.J. Simpkins added 13 points and Sam Sherry 17 along with 13 boards for a double-double. Matt Van Komen, who is 7-foot-4, led the Phoenix in rebounds with 14.
“Corn’s a shooter,” Jackson said. “One he hits with the shot clock going dead. Other than that, he made the shots when open. It’s all about execution. We execute the game plan, we got looks, we kept them out of transition, we’ve got to make shots.”
Outside of Dawson and Anochili-Killen, Herd shooters couldn’t find the mark. Jalen Speer went 0-of-10 with eight misses from three. Nate Martin did have 10 rebounds, but went 0-of-8 from the field. Grant Moore made 1-of-7 from the field.
“I believe in both those guys,” Jackson said of Speer and Martin. “You’ve seen Nate for a year-and-a-half. I don’t think he’s ever went 0-for-8. It’s a team effort. When guys get open, we have to make. When they make mistakes, we have to make them pay.”
The Herd didn’t have guard Dezayne Mingo available.
“Anytime you’re a man down it hurts,” Jackson said. “It’s the next-man-up mentality. We won’t make excuses. We have enough talent in that locker room.”
Marshall’s last lead was 15-14 with 11:10 remaining in the first half.
Marshall, 0-1 in the Sun Belt, gets set for league play the rest of the season. A four-game home stand starts Thursday when Texas State visits. Start time is 7 p.m. at Cam Henderson Center. Troy comes in Saturday at 4 p.m.
Elon coach Billy Taylor missed the game due to illness. Ryan Saunders served as acting head coach.
This was the first meeting between the Herd and Elon. Marshall is the eighth Sun Belt team the Phoenix have played. Elon’s home mark is 5-0.