Marshall University Athletics
Thundering Herd Men Edged By Ball State, 79-78
2/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Thundering Herd Men Edged By Ball State, 79-78
2/24/2004
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. ? Marshall senior forward Marvin Black?s 30 points were not enough for the Thundering Herd Tuesday night, as the Ball State Cardinals came away from the Henderson Center with a 79-78 victory in Mid-American Conference play.
MU had the final opportunity to win the game down one with eight seconds to go, but Black was called for a charge near the free throw line on the last possession to seal the game for the Cardinals.
The Herd played catch-up to the Cardinals for most of the night, and Ball State always seemed one step ahead. When Marshall did tie the game or take the lead, BSU responded by knocking down big shots of their own to keep the lead in their favor.
The Herd trailed at the half by four points, 37-33, but rallied to tie the game at 45 on a made three-pointer by A.W. Hamilton (Georgetown, Ky.) with 15:51 to go in the game. It was the first time Marshall had tied the score since the game was 18-18 early in the contest. Over the next four minutes the score was knotted on three different occasions.
With the score tied at 57, Ball State got two made threes on consecutive trips down the floor by Matt McCollum and Dennis Trammell, respectively, to take a six-point lead. The Cardinals retained the lead until two Black free throws capped a 6-0 run to tie the score again at 75 with 1:26 remaining in regulation. Trammell made a runner in the lane to put BSU up two points on their next possession, and then on their following possession after a Hamilton turnover, Robert Owens knocked down two free throws to push the Cardinal lead up to four, 79-75. Hamilton immediately responded by knocking down a three-pointer to get the Herd within one, 79-78. McCollum then turned the ball over on the impending inbounds after being pressured by David Anderson (Levittown, Puerto Rico), but the Herd could not take advantage of the last shot opportunity, as Black was charged with the offensive foul.
Trammell led the Ball State scoring contingent with 19 points. McCollum added 17 points, while Cameron Echols pitched in 16, 14 of which came in the first half.
Black tied his career high in points with 30, and also added 12 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season. Mark Patton (Barboursville, W.Va.) tallied the second double-double of his career with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Hamilton added another solid performance with 16 points, eight assists, and four steals against only one turnover in 39 minutes of playing time.
The Herd return to action against MAC rival Ohio Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio.
