Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Men Fall To West Virginia, 55-51
1/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Marshall Men Fall To West Virginia, 55-51
1/21/2004
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Sports Network) - Tyrone Sally poured in 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds in leading the West Virginia Mountaineers to a 55-51 victory over the Marshall Thundering Herd in non-conference action from the Charleston Civic Center.
Marvin Black led the Herd (6-8) in defeat with a double-double that consisted of 18 points and 10 rebounds. A.W. Hamilton chipped in eight points, as Marshall dropped its fourth game out of its last five.
Sally finished the game 5-of-8 from the field, as West Virginia (9-6) snapped its two-game losing skid. Joe Herber added 12 points and six rebounds in the winning cause.
The Mountaineers opened the game with a 21-12 run en route to a 29-26 lead at the break.
Marshall took the lead in the second half, and led by as many as seven in the early minutes of the period. However, West Virginia would fight back, and with 9:06 to go in the game, WVU's Patick Beilein nailed a three-pointer to put the Mountaineers up for good, 46-45. Marshall cut the lead to one at 50-49 on an A.W. Hamilton jumper at the 1:30 mark, but a key offensive rebound and putback by Sally pushed the WVU lead to three with :29 seconds to go. Ronny Dawn's game tying three-point attempt from the top of the key was off the mark, securing the win for West Virginia.
In the second half, West Virginia converted 7-of-8 free-throw attempts, as it held on for the four-point victory.
Neither team shot particularly well in the game, as the Mountaineers made just 31.5 percent of their total field goal attempts, while Marshall hit on just 35.6 percent from the floor.
The Herd return to Mid-American Conference play when they host Ohio Saturday evening at the Henderson Center. The game will be televised live by the Thundering Herd/ISP Network.
