— By Bill Cornwell
For Marshall’s men’s basketball team, it was hardly an enjoyable Thanksgiving.
The Thundering Herd entered the holiday off a less-than-satisfying 90-67 home loss to Lipscomb. The Bisons led the entire game while handing MU its first home loss of the season.
The Herd hopes to get the bad taste out of its mouth and move forward Wednesday night with the start of a two-game road swing against UNC Wilmington for a 7 p.m. contest at Trask Coliseum. The game can be seen on Flo Sports.
Jackson says Marshall (5-2) worked hard over the last week following the disappointing performance, taking only one day off since the setback.
“We were flat and we didn’t come out with the juice we needed to get the ‘W,’” Jackson said. “We seemed to be running in the mud and they were moving at a different pace than us. We went back to the drawing board and worked on the basics, making sure we don’t get caught off guard like that again.”
The Seahawks (7-1) picked up an 88-62 win at home over Gardner-Webb on Saturday. Wilmington’s only loss this season came against Kent State on November 10, and it’s been followed by six straight victories, five of which have been by double figures.
Takayo Siddle is in his sixth season as the Seahawks’ head coach and has compiled an impressive 113-48 record.
Wilmington qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season and was competitive in an opening-round loss to Texas Tech.
“We have a tough stretch coming up,” Jackson said. “Wilmington won their league last year and they’re off to a really good start this season. They have size and athleticism as well as shooters so we have to play some good basketball to go there and get a win.”
The Seahawks have five players averaging double-figure scoring led by Nolan Hodge at 15 points per game. Madison Durr (12.5), Christian May (11.8), Patrick Wessler (11.6) and Noah Ross (10.9) are other primary scorers, while the 7-foot Wessler is Wilmington’s top rebounder with an average of 8.1.
Marshall has four players averaging double-figure scoring led by Wyatt Fricks (15). Fricks is followed by guards Jalen Speer (13.1) and Noah Otshudi (10.9), while 7-foot-4 center Matt Van Komen averages 10.7 points. Van Komen averages nearly eight rebounds per game to lead the team in that category.
The Seahawks have a 4-3 series lead against Marshall. The teams last met nearly one calendar year ago and Wilmington came away 78-69 winners at home.
After Wednesday’s game,, Marshall will remain on the road, making the short trip to Athens, Ohio on Saturday to take on an old rival in the Ohio Bobcats. Game time at the Convocation Center is 4 p.m.