— By David Walsh
Jalen Speer sank two free throws when needed most and Marshall survived a final-second scare from James Madison to upend the Dukes, 66-64, in Sun Belt Conference action Wednesday at the Atlantic Union Bank Center in Harrisonburg, Va.
“We knew they’d make a run. We came out on the winning side,” Marshall coach Corny Jackson said on postgame radio. “The first half was maybe the best defensive performance I’ve seen out of our team (to build a 36-25 lead). High energy and together they really set the tone. Second half maybe the defense wasn’t as good. You can’t be up 11 and then that’s that. We’ve been here before. App State made a run at home and made it a game. We make big free throws at the end. Other guys had their opportunity, made the plays and we got a win here at JMU. It’s a great team win regardless of how they look.”
Wyatt Fricks sank a free throw with 4:09 left to give the Thundering Herd a 64-55 lead. From that point, the Dukes did the rallying and Marshall found ways to let the home team hang around until Speer made the clutch free throws.
With 2:21 to go, JMU’s Justin McBride hit a layup, got fouled and made the free throw to make it 64-62. It would stay that way until Speer converted the key free throws. Before that, both Speer and Wyatt Fricks missed the front end of the bonus, though each time, the Herd got possession back.
After a timeout, Eli Wilborn nailed a basket for the Dukes and was fouled with 1.5 seconds left to excite the crowd of 2,435. He missed the free throw on purpose before the Herd got possession and the clock ran out.
Marshall (11-5, 3-1 Sun Belt) won its fourth straight. James Madison (8-8, 1-3) was the preseason pick to win the league and lost for the first time at home in six games.
Marshall had the lead for more than 38 minutes. The Herd got 18 points off 11 turnovers by the Dukes and finished with just six turnovers.
Jackson felt the Herd did a solid job early of executing the plan devised Tuesday night by assistant coach Steve Snell.
“Credit the coach. Coach Snell put together a great game plan,” Jackson said. “We had an extra meeting last night. We don’t normally do that. Just talking about how we’re going to guard these guys. That’s the respect level we have for this program. We came out and executed, especially in the first half. We have to put two halves together. These guys are continuing to get better.”
Herd guard Noah Otshudi played a career-high 39 minutes and led the attack with 16 points to go with five rebounds. Speer, the Sun Belt Player of the Week, netted 15 despite a tough shooting night (4 of 20, 3 of 10 from three).
James Madison heated up in the second half, shooting 54 percent and chipping away at the Herd lead.
McBride led James Madison with 14 points. Eddie Ricks III contributed 12 and Preston Fowler 10. McBride, the top scorer for the Dukes, didn’t score in the first half.
Otshudi continues to make quite an impact.
“Push the ball and execute our assignment,” Otshudi said. “First few games kind of slow at the start. Emphasis tonight was come out and hit first. Did that and got a pretty good lead. We knew they’d come back. It’s a game of runs. We just kind of stuck to it.”
His touch shines on mid-range jumpers.
“Been working on that and so many things over the years,” Otshudi said. “It’s good knowing I have a good touch in there. When the game comes like that, they need me to score. I’m comfortable getting to those spots.”
Marshall’s trip continues Saturday against Georgia State in Atlanta. Tip is 4 p.m.
“We’re going to keep getting better regardless of who we play and what the score is,” Jackson said. “Credit JMU. They executed the play at the end. It was a scramble for the ball (off a free-throw miss) and we got it. Fortunate to come out on the winning side. Our long-term goal is go 2-0 on this trip. Can’t do it if you don’t win the first one. I reminded the guys the job is half done. We have to complete the mission.”
Marshall’s 7-foot-4 center Matt Van Komen was limited to 2 minutes off the bench after suffering an injury in the previous game.