— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The final week of the Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball regular season is upon it, and with it comes the opportunity for Marshall to continue building on recent success.
The Herd won at Old Dominion and Appalachian State last week in a stretch of less than 48 hours, while improving to 17-12 overall and 10-6 in Sun Belt play.
To maintain momentum, Marshall will look to defeat both again this week starting with Tuesday’s 7 p.m. game against the Monarchs at Cam Henderson Center. The contest can be seen on ESPN+.
While the Herd won at Appalachian State on Saturday, ODU (11-18, 7-9) dropped its final home game of the season to Georgia State, 76-70.
Marshall got a strong performance from junior guard Dezayne Mingo in its most recent victory. Mingo scored a season-high 25 points and chipped in with five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Graduate guard Jalen Speer added 16 points and senior forward Nate Martin scored 15 points to go with eight rebounds for the Herd.
In its 81-77 win at Old Dominion last Thursday, Marshall’s 18-point second-half lead was cut to one possession in the final minute before the Herd handled matters at the free-throw line and prevailed.
“I’m not a fan of getting too comfortable and it’s hard to beat the same team twice, so it’s important for us to stay focused and play as hard as we did on the road last week,” Mingo said.
Old Dominion has a pair of players averaging double-figure scoring in Sean Durugordon (15.5 points), Robert Davis Jr. (15.4).
Durugordon is the Monarchs’ top rebounder at 8.7 per game.
The Monarchs have struggled to score from the perimeter and are making only 28.4 percent of their three-point attempts. ODU shot 6 for 19 from long range in the first meeting with Marshall.
Marshall’s shooting numbers have improved to 44.3 percent from the field and 31.4 percent on threes thanks to its ability to generate balanced scoring on a consistent basis.
All five of Marshall’s starters average double figures, led by Obinna Anochili-Killen at 13.9 points.
Mikal Dawson (12.8), Mingo (12.1), Speer (10.9) and Martin (10) follow.
Martin continues to lead the Herd in rebounding with an average of 8.4.
Anochili-Killen’s Sun Belt Conference-leading shot block total is at 84, which leaves him second in the nation to Gabe Dynes of Youngstown State, who has 95 blocks.
Ahead of Tuesday’s game, the Herd is in a two-way tie with Appalachian State for fifth place in the conference standings. James Madison is in sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt at 12-4, followed by a three-way tie for second between Arkansas State, South Alabama and Troy, which are all at 11-5.
Marshall wraps up the regular season at 9 p.m. Friday against the Mountaineers at the Henderson Center. That game is being shown nationally on ESPNU.