— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall didn’t get the desired result on its Senior Night contest Friday against Georgia Southern. Later, though, after Sun Belt Conference officials gathered to decide an abundance of tiebreakers for the tournament next week, news turned out favorable for the Thundering Herd.
Thanks to a late run and 61-point second half, the Eagles raced past Marshall, 99-82, before a disappointed home crowd at Cam Henderson Center. It marked their first win in Huntington, gave the regular-season title and No. 1 seed to Troy and created a six-way tie for second. The Herd got the No. 2 seed based on the league’s tiebreaker scenarios as six teams finished 11-7 in league play.
That means Marshall won’t take the court in Pensacola, Fla. until Sunday. Game time in the Pensacola Bay Center will be 8:30 p.m (EST). The opponent will be the winner Game 8 between No. 3 seed Coastal Carolina and its opponent to be determined — which could be any of the following teams: No. 14 UL Monroe, No. 11 Old Dominion, No. 10 Georgia Southern, No. 7 Arkansas State or No. 6 South Alabama. The RedWolves and Jaguars were part of the six-way tie for second.
Herd coach Corny Jackson said his team has some soul searching to do between now and the semifinal contest.
“A lot of time to self reflect before we head to Pensacola,” Jackson said. “We have to go to a different mindset, get our minds right and deliver results.”
A lack of defensive productivity damaged the Herd in its latest contest. Tyren Moore led Georgia Southern with 26 points with an 8 of 12 effort from beyond the arc. He also had eight threes when the Eagles won at home earlier this season against MU.
Alden Applewhite added 23 points and Nakavieon White 20. Khayri Dunn added 11 of the bench as the visitors outscored the Herd 38-17 in that statistic.
“They made plays when they needed to be made,” Jackson said. “Gave them way too much in the second half. The floor opened up.”
Marshall honored seven seniors prior to tipoff with flowers and a framed picture of each player’s jersey. The seven were Wilson Dubinsky, Wyatt Fricks, Noah Otshudi, Grant Moore, Kai Speers, Jalen Speer and Matt Van Komen, who remains sidelined with a foot injury.
“I feel bad for the seniors, especially Wyatt,” Jackson said. “We put ourselves in position. We didn’t get it done. Maybe the moment was too big? I don’t know.”
Applewhite drilled a three with 5:08 left to give the Eagles the lead for good at 75-73. From that point, the visitors outscored Marshall, 24-9. They closed the game on a 13-2 run.
In its earlier meeting with Marshall, Georgia Southern scored 101, meaning it averaged 100 points in two regular season matchups.
The Eagles tied a season-high under coach Charlie Henry with the 61 second-half points. They are 10-0 this season when scoring at least 90 in a game.
Troy (12-6) is No. 1 seed in the tournament and also idle until next Sunday when it starts the semifinal round. The Sun Belt title game is set for 7 p.m. next week, with the winner earning an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
After Marshall and Coastal Carolina, seeds from the tiebreaker are No. 4 Appalachian State, No. 5 Texas State, No. 6 South Alabama and No. 7 Arkansas State.
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The Marshall women’s team, which lost to Georgia Southern in overtime, 78-72, in its Senior Night contest last Friday, is the No. 5 seed in the SBC Tournament. Its first game will be Friday against Texas State or the Game 5 winner at 12:30 p.m.
Should the Herd win, it would face No. 4 James Madison on Saturday at 1 p.m. A win there would put Marshall in one semifinal against top seed Georgia Southern on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
Troy is the No. 2 seed and in the other semifinal. Those winners will meet in the title game Monday at 2 p.m. That winner gets the SBC’s automatic to the NCAA Tournament.
Georgia Southern swept the Herd and Troy rallied from down 20 to beat Marshall in the regular season.