Marshall University Athletics
Eastern Michigan Manages to Hold Off Marshall, 90-88
11/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Eastern Michigan Manages to Hold Off Marshall, 90-88
11/30/2004
YPSILANTI, Mich. ? The Herd fell two points short of an amazing comeback victory Tuesday night at the EMU Convocation Center, 90-88, in Mid-American Conference action. Marshall trailed by 17 points with 8:36 to go in the game, and had the final shot with 11 seconds to play, but could not get its final attempts at the win to go in the basket.
Marshall drops to 1-3, 0-1 in MAC play, while the Eagles improve to 3-1, 1-0 in the Mid-
American Conference.
Joe Miles (Forestville, Md.) led five double-figure scorers with 20 points, with junior post players Mark Patton (Barboursville, W.Va.) and LaVar Carter (Louisville, Ky.) holding their own against one of the MAC?s best frontcourts. Patton added his first double-double of the year with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Carter posted career bests in points (14) and blocked shots (6). Tre Whitted (Wilmington, N.C.) chipped in 11 points, while freshman Casey Wohlleb (Boca Raton, Fla.) added ten points and five rebounds, also career bests.
Eastern Michigan led the Herd, 51-41, at the half after shooting 51% from the floor, while Marshall shot 41% from the field. MU was hurt by 12 first-half turnovers, including a few costly mistakes in the open floor. Miles led Marshall in scoring in the first half with 11 points, while Carter had a monster half for the Thundering Herd, posting six points, six rebounds, and five blocked shots.
The opening of the second half was more of the same for the Eagles, and with 8:36 to go, Eastern Michigan held a 17-point lead, 79-62. Marshall then went on a 26-11 run to close the game, and had the ball, down two, with 11 seconds to go. Miles? deep three pointer went off the back rim, and Whitted?s subsequent three-point attempt was also off the mark. Marshall never led in the game.
Turnovers again plagued the Herd, as Marshall ended the game with 23 giveaways. Marshall entered the contest averaging 17.3 turnovers per game. Free throw shooting, which had been a strong point for MU entering the game, hurt the Herd Tuesday. Marshall was 23-of-35 from the line for the night (65.7%), with a few of those misses coming in clutch situations late in the second half when MU was climbing back into the game. MU out-rebounded Eastern Michigan 36-31, including 13-11 on the offensive end, and made 39.1% of its three-point attempts (9-23).
Freshman guard Darryl Garrett led the Eagles with a game-high 22 points off the Eastern Michigan bench. James Jackson, John Bowler, and Rico Harris each added 12 points for EMU.
Marshall returns to action on Saturday against 2004 Sweet 16 team UAB in the Henderson Center. Tickets are still available at the Henderson Center ticket office and on HerdZone.com. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
