Marshall University Athletics
Branch West Edges Men's Basketball, 83-78
11/16/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Branch West Edges Men's Basketball, 83-78
11/16/2002
- Box Score
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Nate Pondexter and Ron Bruton scored 21 points apiece to lead the Branch West Basketball Academy to an 83-78 win over Marshall University in men?s exhibition action Saturday at the Cam Henderson Center before a crowd of 2,788.
?This was a great learning experience,? Marshall junior Ronald Blackshear said. ?That was a very good exhibition team and they gave us the kind of challenge we needed. We are a young team and we made mistakes tonight that we are going to be able to learn from. We are still learning and coming togeother as a team.?
Branch West, a team comprised of former collegiate players that downed UCLA 92-76 on Wednesday, opened the game with two layups and never trailed, despite strong efforts by Marshall to close the gap late. Down the stretch Marshall managed to narrow the score to three with 28 seconds to play and again with only eight seconds to play, however on both occassions Branch West managed to counter.
?This was exactly the kind of game we needed to get prepared,? Marshall head coach Greg White said. ?There is a lot we can take from the game tape and learn from. That game was a typical MAC game.?
Marshall placed five players in double-figures, led by Blackshear?s 24 points. Freshman Mark Patton earned a start in the contest and responded with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Ardo Armpalu added 11 points, while senior Monty Wright and sophomore David Anderson scored 12 and 11, respectively.
Branch West took advantage of Marshall?s youth underneath and managed to scored 48 points in the paint thanks in no small part to the excellent point guard play of former Oklahoma State standout Doug Gottlieb who finished the night nine assists, eight rebounds, and six points. Marshall scored 34 points in the paint and was held to 34.6% shooting from three-point range (9 of 26).
The Thundering Herd now turns its attention to the season opener at Niagara. Marshall will travel to Lewiston, N.Y., to take on the Purple Eagles Friday, November 22nd. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.