— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall basketball coach Corny Jackson had a bit of a pause after starting on the postgame description of what he witnessed in the Thundering Herd’s 78-68 exhibition win over Pikeville on Wednesday night at Cam Henderson Center.
“It was … disappointing,” Jackson began. “Even though we won the game, they outplayed us, out-scrapped us, were tougher than us. We talk about being consistent, being scrappy, playing with toughness, leadership. We’re searching for all four now. It’s a new roster, but we’ve got to get it turned around quickly.”
Marshall, with many new faces on the 2026-27 roster, had a 2-0 mark in exhibitions, but Jackson didn’t see what he knows is needed by Monday when the Herd opens the season against Buffalo at home in the Mid-American Conference-Sun Belt Conference Challenge.
Marshall did have its moments against a team picked to win the Appalachian American Conference and ranked No. 21 in the NAIA Preseason Poll, and the Herd led 20-8 midway through the first half.
Then the Bears went on an 11-0 run, and the matchup remained close, before the visitors led at the break, 29-27.
Pikevile led for a significant part of the game — 15:42 in all stretched over both halves.
“Like coach said, we’ve got a lot of work to do,” said Marshall guard Noah Otshudi, one of the few returnees from a year ago. “I’m in a new role. What this team has to do is play hard.”
Marshall had a 16-2 spurt to lead, 16-5. From there it was all UPike. Down 20-11, Jace Copley made two straight threes and Aden Barnett had a layup to get the Bears within one. When their burst ended on a free throw with 1:29 left, UPike led, 27-24.
Copley had another 3 early in the second half to help UPike expand its lead to 34-27 with 18:42 left.
A short time later, Marshall scored nine straight and led, 40-37..
The guests responded with seven straight points, but midway through the half, the Herd ran off a 14-0 burst during a stretch it made 7-of-8 shots.
The Bears would not go away. Six-foot-7 Colt Langdon drilled a triple to give Marshall a 75-66 lead with inside 3 minutes remaining.
Copley finished with seven three-pointers and a game-high 24 points. He also had a team-best eight rebounds. Chapmanville native Zion Blevins followed with 17 points.
“We came out aggressive,” Jackson said. “We were being consistent at it. Number 5 (Copley) had the game of his life. They had something to prove. You could tell by the way they played. I’m happy we won, but they outplayed us. No bones about it.”
The Herd made just 3-of-23 shots from long range and lost the board battle.
“We shoot the lights out in practice,” Jackson said. “We’ve got to perform when the lights come on. We’ve got a new roster. We can’t count on that. It starts Monday.
“Keep taking open shots. I don’t tell them not to shoot. That’s how they play.They’re capable. I’ve seen it. Mind over matter. Got to make the shot.”
Langdon, a left-hander, showed he’ll mix it up underneath and let it fly from the perimeter when the chance is there.
“He’s versatile,” Jackson said.
“A little bit of everything,” Langdon said. “Help the team win.”
Langdon led the Herd with 18 points. Bryce Slay had 13, Emmanuel Manyuon 11 and Otshudi 10.
Now the contests count starting with the matchup against the Bulls.
“Can’t wait to get the Cam rockin’,” Jackson said. “We want it packed. We’ve got to play the brand of basketball to do that. Give them a product to cheer for.
“That was high-level. It was good for us. We play games like that to get prepared for the season. We have a tough non-league schedule. Maybe we needed a wake-up call. I still believe in these guys. I’m excited for Monday.”