Marshall University Athletics
Xavier Downs Marshall Men, 69-46
12/31/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Xavier Downs Marshall Men, 69-46
12/31/2004
CINCINNATI, Ohio ? Xavier forward Justin Doellman scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Xavier Musketeers past the Marshall Thundering Herd, 69-46, Thursday night at the Cintas Center.
Xavier improves to 5-4 on the season, while Marshall falls to 2-7.
Marshall trailed at the half, 25-15, and was held scoreless for the last seven minutes of the first half and had only one basket in the last 12 minutes. Turnovers again prevented the Herd from getting quality shot opportunities, as Marshall turned the ball over 13 times in the first half, with many of those coming during the scoring drought. During the seven minute scoring drought, the Herd turned the ball over on eight out of nine possessions down the floor. MU entered the game averaging 18.1 turnovers per game, and on the night, Marshall finished with 20. Despite Marshall?s ineffectiveness on offense in the opening stanza, the Herd?s defense kept the ball game close, limiting Xavier to only 25 points of their own in the first half.
?We struggled offensively in the first half, which really negated our defensive effort,? said head coach Ron Jirsa. ?I think we got worn down a little bit. We played a good team tonight that made the final eight last year, a team that had two starters back from last season.?
The scoring drought continued for both teams in the second half, with the first bucket coming from Xavier?s Justin Cage at the 17:25 mark to give the Musketeers a 27-15 lead. Marshall finally got on track offensively in the second half, but never got closer than six points the rest of the way.
For the game, Xavier shot a blistering 53.1% from the floor, while the Herd shot 39.0%. The Musketeers also shot 40.9% from beyond-the-arc, and 72.7% from the free-throw line. XU also out-rebounded the Herd, 32-20, including 13-8 on the offensive glass.
Joe Miles (Forestville, Md.) led the Herd with 14 points. LaVar Carter (Louisville, Ky.) was the only other player to score in double-figures with ten points.
Xavier got double-digit games from Doellman, Stanley Burrell (13), and Justin Cage (10).
