— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall hopes to get past a lackluster performance in its most recent game on Saturday when the Thundering Herd welcomes Coastal Carolina to the Cam Henderson Center.
The 4 p.m. contest can be seen on ESPN+.
Marshall (13-10, 6-4 Sun Belt) had its three-game win streak snapped Thursday as Georgia State defeated the Herd, 85-81.
Seven days earlier, Marshall had defeated the Panthers in Atlanta, 92-79.
Coastal Carolina (8-14, 1-9) was also in action Thursday and suffered a 73-64 loss to James Madison.
The loss dropped Marshall into a five-way tie for third place in the Sun Belt Conference with Appalachian State, South Alabama, James Madison and Old Dominion.
Marshall trailed 51-37 at halftime on Thursday as Georgia State carved up the Herd with 22 for 31 first-half shooting.
After falling behind by 20 points early in the second half, the Herd made a frenzied comeback that ultimately fell two possessions short.
Marshall head coach Cornelius Jackson said he’d warned his team nothing but an intense effort was unacceptable, even against a Panthers’ squad near the bottom of the Sun Belt standings.
“Anybody can beat you, so we need to make sure we keep our edge,” Jackson said. “Maybe I didn’t say that with enough passion, because they didn’t get that message to start the game.”
Coastal Carolina held a one point lead at JMU as the 12-minute mark approached, but was unable to prevail.
The Chanticleers’ Rasheed Jones and Jordan Battle scored 17 points apiece in the loss.
Jones (12.9 ppg) and Battle (11.4) lead the Chanticleers in scoring, along with 7-foot-2 center Noah Amenhouser (10.3). Forward Denzel Hines tops Coastal’s rebounders with an average of 6.4.
Marshall and Coastal Carolina met two weeks ago in Conway, South Carolina, when the Herd came away with a 77-64 win for its first road victory this season.
Obinna Anochili-Killen had 23 points and four blocks in the contest, while Marshall’s Dezayne Mingo chipped in with 18 points.
Since that first meeting with Marshall, Coastal Carolina has lost to Georgia Southern, Old Dominion and James Madison.
Marshall’s statistics changed little after Thursday’s game. Four players still average double-figure scoring — Anochili-Killen (13.5), Mikal Dawson (13), Mingo (11.3) and Jalen Speer (11).
Nate Martin leads the Herd in rebounding with an average of eight.
After Saturday, Marshall remains home for Wednesday’s 9 p.m. contest with preseason Sun Belt favorite Arkansas State that will be televised on ESPNU.