Marshall’s Dezayne Mingo and Obinna Anochili-Killen misfired on three-pointers in an effort to tie in the last 5 seconds, and with it went the Herd’s chances at an extended run in the Sun Belt Conference Championship as a result of Saturday’s 77-74 loss to Arkansas State in a quarterfinal at Pensacola Bay Center.
A No. 5 seed, Marshall (20-13) had its five-game win streak snapped.
“I’m proud of these guys because they stayed the course and got better every day,” MU head coach Cornelius Jackson said.
Neither team led by more than six throughout a highly-competitive contest.
One of four teams to tie for the Sun Belt Conference regular season championship at 13-5 in league play, Arkansas State (23-9) led 71-65 with inside 4 minutes left, before the Herd ran off six straight points to pull even.
Anochili-Killen, who finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocked shots in his final college contest, scored the first four points of that stretch. Mingo made it 71-all on a layup with 2:20 remaining, though Terrance Ford Jr. countered with a short jumper to give the Red Wolves the lead again.
After Jakob Gibbs made 1-of-2 free throws to bring MU to within one, the Herd had three shots to lead, but couldn’t get any to drop.
On Arkansas State’s ensuing possession, Anochili-Killen was whistled for a touch foul with the shot clock winding down as Joseph Pinion released a three. Pinion made two free throws for a three-point lead, and after Mingo scored on a drive to the basket with 27 seconds left, Ford made two more free throws for what proved to be the final margin.
“The game today wasn’t about how good I played. As a player, you don’t want to go home,” Anochili-Killen said. “I just try my best to help the team to be successful. We came up short, but we’ll be alright.”
Marshall trailed 39-36 at halftime but was ahead 44-41 3:06 into the second half after a Mikal Dawson triple.
When Dawson connected from deep again with 14:37 to play, MU had a 52-46 advantage, but after the Red Wolves used a 6-0 spurt to gain a 57-55 lead, they never trailed again.
“Obviously it didn’t end the way we wanted it to end, because we wanted to win the whole thing, but it was a blessing coaching these guys every day this year,” Jackson said.
Mingo and Dawson scored 14 apiece.
Taryn Todd led the Red Wolves’ five double-figure scorers with 19 points. Ford scored 16, while Pinion and Kobe Julien added 13 apiece. Izaiyah Nelson chipped in with 12 points and a game-high 14 boards.
Marshall starting forward Nate Martin was scoreless with nine rebounds in 18 minutes before being ejected for a flagrant foul with 13:58 left.
“He’s one of the best players on our team,” Jackson said, “so losing him obviously hurt.”