— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The home stand didn’t begin the way Marshall wanted.
Georgia State took advantage of hot first-half shooting to lead by double figures, held off a spirited Thundering Herd rally in the final 13 minutes and put the game away on free throws to prevail 85-81 on Thursday night for its first road win this season.
The crowd of 4,402 at Cam Henderson Center stayed quiet much of the first half in this Sun Belt Conference contest and opening 7 minutes of the second as the Panthers opened a 68-48 lead with 13:26 to play.
Back came the Herd from that point and finally gave the fans a reason to crank up the volume of cheers. It would take Malachi Brown and Toneari Lane making two free throws each in 1-and-1 spots in the closing seconds to finally settle the issue and the Herd’s win streak at three.
“Hats off to Georgia State. They came to win a basketball game tonight and it showed,” first-year Herd coach Corny Jackson said. “They made lot of rhythm shots. We knew they’d go to the post and our guards didn’t help out. We didn’t come out with a sense or urgency. You can’t get down 20 on your home court. They were hitting threes (12) and posting up. They got hot. They were having their way all day.”
Georgia State (8-14, 4-6 Sun Belt) got a game-high 27 points from Cesare Edwards, along with four assists and three blocks. The Panthers had five players in double figures. Lane and Nick McMullen hit for 14 each, Jelani Hamilton 13 and Brown 10. The visitors shot 71 percent (22 of 31) in the first half en route to a 51-37 lead.
Dezayne Mingo paced Marshall (13-10, 6-4) with 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Obinna Anochili-Killen added 20 points and two blocks. Jalen Speer scored 15 and Mikal Dawson 12.
The same scenario played out as one Wednesday where Old Dominion visited Appalachian State and prevailed over the favored Mountaineers. Jackson made reference to that outcome at the Thursday shoot-around.
“We had a good run,” Jackson said. “They outplayed us from the start. We’ve got work to do to save our fans. They did their job, we didn’t do our job. Hopefully they come back Saturday and we change that. I referenced the App loss. On paper, they’re supposed to win. It’s clear they didn’t get the message. Have to remind our guys anybody can beat you.”
Georgia State shot 62 percent (34 of 55) for the game to secure just its second win in this series with Marshall. The Panthers never trailed in the second half. They had a 40-22 edge in points in the paint and 19 layups to seven for Marshall.
Anochili-Killen surpassed 1,500 career points during the game, but that stat didn’t matter to him.
“Kudos to Georgia State. The first half we came out soft,” Anochili-Killen said. “The bigs, No. 4 (Edwards) bust my ass. I went to his house and busted him and he came here and busted me up. Give them props. If were started the first five minutes the way we started the first five in the second half, who knows? They were hot and we weren’t pressuring them. Went back to the locker room and tried to figure things out. It was mostly catch-and-shoot. I take responsibility for that. I need to show the guys we’ve got come to play. I didn’t even know (reaching 1,500 points). That’s good. Doesn’t matter. I’ll always trade a win for career points. We didn’t win. We need them (fans) Saturday. I apologize for our first half. That won’t happen Saturday.”
Marshall is back in action Saturday at home against Coastal Carolina. Start time is 4 p.m.
That support helped inspire the Herd in the second half.
“They came ready to play,” Mingo said. “We’re a lot better than that first half. They’re (fans) the reason we had that second half. We need to bring it a whole 40 minutes.”
After falling behind 26-20, Georgia State went on a 12-0 run with 10:39 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Brown to take a 32-26 lead. The Panthers did most of their first-half damage in the paint, scoring 28 of 51 points close to the basket.
Georgia State forced 13 turnovers and converted the Marshall miscues into 19 points.