Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Hosts Buffalo In Men's Basketball Action Wednesday Night
2/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Marshall Hosts Buffalo In Men's Basketball Action Wednesday Night
2/22/2005
Senior guard A.W. Hamilton has started 76 consecutive games in a Marshall uniform. Photo by Matt Riley |
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Thundering Herd face the streaking Buffalo Bulls Wednesday evening at the Cam Henderson Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Marshall leads the overall series between the two schools, 10-4; however, Buffalo won the first meeting earlier this season on January 27th at Alumni Arena, 78-65. The Herd has won six of seven meetings at the Henderson Center, with the Bulls? lone win coming in 2001-02, 82-78. Tonight?s meeting marks the last regular season game between the two schools as members of the Mid-American Conference.
In that earlier meeting, Marshall led for the first 33 minutes of the game, but the Bulls took advantage of an 8:10 Thundering Herd scoring drought down the stretch in the second half to pull away with the victory. David Anderson (Levittown, P.R.) knocked down two free throws to make the score 58-54 in favor of the Thundering Herd at the 9:03 mark, but then the Buffalo ran began. The Bulls went on a 17-0 run that ended on two A.W. Hamilton (Georgetown, Ky.) free throws; however, by then, Buffalo had pushed their lead to 71-60 and taken control of the contest.
Buffalo enters Wednesday?s contest with a 17-7 overall record, 9-6 record in the Mid-American Conference, and are the winners of four consecutive games. Four Bulls players average double-figures in the MAC?s best scoring offense, with senior guard Turner Battle leading the way at 15.4 points per game. Mark Bortz averages 11.0 points off the bench, with Calvin Cage (10.7) and Yassin Idbihi (10.1) rounding out Buffalo?s double-digit scorers. Bortz and Idbihi lead the Bulls? effort on the glass, with both averaging 5.7 rebounds per game.
In the Bulls' last time out, Buffalo participated in the ESPN Bracket Buster event on Saturday at Fresno State, and defeated the Bulldogs, 52-49. Buffalo shot only 26.9% from the floor, but forced 24 Fresno State turnovers, 15 of those on steals, and made 85.7% of their free throws. Yassin Idbhi led the way for the Bulls with 13 points and nine rebounds. Roderick Middleton also added 11 points in Buffalo?s winning effort.
The Herd, who did not participate in Bracket Buster Saturday, have been off since its meeting with Miami in Oxford on February 15th. Marshall dropped that game 59-51 at Millett Hall. The Herd led in both halves, but the RedHawks put the clamps on Marshall defensively to squash any chances of a Herd victory. Miami held Marshall scoreless for four minutes in the first half, and six minutes in the second half to keep the Herd at bay. The RedHawks also out-rebounded the Herd, 38-25, 14-7 on the offensive glass in the deciding statistic of the game. Guards Ronny Dawn (Fort Thomas, Ky.) and Tre Whitted (Wilmington, N.C.) led Marshall with 11 points, with David Anderson adding ten points, his third consecutive double-figure scoring game.
Junior center Mark Patton (Barboursville, W.Va.) leads the Herd, averaging 10.8 points per game. Hamilton is next at 10.7 points per contest, with freshman Joe Miles (Forestville, Md.) rounding out MU's double-figure scorers at 10.2 per game.
