Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Men To Play At East Tennessee State Monday Night
11/27/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 27, 2005
Marshall GameNotes
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ETSU GameNotes
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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - The Thundering Herd will play its last road game before the Christmas break when it travels to Johnson City, Tenn., to take on former Southern Conference rival East Tennessee State at Memorial Center. The game comes two days after Marshall got its first win of the 2005-06 season, a 70-67 decision over Evansville in the Henderson Center.
Marshall captured its first win behind a stellar effort from senior center Mark Patton (Barboursville, W.Va.). Patton led the Herd with his first double-double of the season, a 19-point, 11-rebound effort. Travis Aikens added 15 points, and sophomore guard Joe Miles poured in 14 points in Marshall's winning effort. The telling statistic of the game: MU out-rebounded the Purple Aces, 39-24, including 18-6 on the offensive end.
East Tennessee State enters Monday's contest with an 0-2 record, with their losses coming at Tennessee and at Radford. All-American guard Tim Smith leads the ETSU offensive attack, averaging 23.0 points per contest. Forward Dillion Sneed is almost averaging a double-double with 19.5 points and 9.5 rebounds, and Courtney Pigram is adding 14.0 points per contest. The Bucs have shot 50.8% from the floor so far in 2005-06.
Marshall and East Tennessee State are currently tied in the overall series, 21-21, with the Herd taking the last meeting between the two schools last season in Huntington, 80-76. The Herd and Bucs met for the first time in the 1956-57 season, and were longtime rivals in the Southern Conference. ETSU is in its first season in the Atlantic Sun Conference, while Marshall is in its first season in Conference USA. Including the ETSU series, Marshall is 26-29 all-time against the Atlantic Sun.
Junior college transfer Travis Aikens (Orlando, Fla.) has paced the Herd's offensive attack early in the season. He averaged 19.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in the preseason, and in Marshall's first three games, he is averaging 17.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Against Virginia Tech, he scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, his first career double-double with the Thundering Herd. He again added double-figures in MU's win over the Purple Aces.
After the Herd's win over the Purple Aces, Marshall is now 22-3 in home openers since the Cam Henderson Center opened in 1981. The Herd's losses came against Oklahoma (70-81) in the Marshall Memorial Invitational in 1985-86, Troy State (72-77) in 2001-02, and UNC Wilmington (56-65) in 2003-04. Marshall boasts a record of 92-28 at home since 1996 and during that time has posted a record of 32-5 in non-conference contests.
Monday's game tips at 7 p.m., and can be heard live on the ISP/Thundering Herd Network in the region or on the Internet at HerdZone.com.
