Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Soars Past Eastern Michigan, 81-75
2/9/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Marshall Soars Past Eastern Michigan, 81-75
2/9/2005
Senior forward David Anderson scored 12 points and had eight rebounds in the Herd's 81-75 win over Eastern Michigan. Photo by Matt Riley |
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. ? Junior center Mark Patton (Barboursville, W.Va.) tied a career-high with 21 points to lead the Thundering Herd to an 81-75 victory over the Eastern Michigan Eagles Wednesday night at the Cam Henderson Center.
Marshall has now won two in a row, and improves their record to 5-16, 2-10 in the Mid-American Conference. Eastern Michigan drops to 10-12, 3-9 in the conference.
The Herd?s win in the Henderson Center avenged an earlier 90-88 defeat in Ypsilanti on November 30th. It is also the third time in the Ron Jirsa era that Marshall has strung two consecutive wins together.
?We?ve been close as of late,? said head coach Ron Jirsa. ?We were closer at Buffalo, closer with Kent State, and closer with Northern Illinois although we let them have a run in the second half. We saw it (the win) coming. I attribute it to working together as a group, with everyone trying to do their part.?
Marshall won a tight, physical contest behind the help of their big men ? David Anderson (Levittown, P.R.), Patton, and LaVar Carter (Louisville, Ky.) combined for 37 points on 16-24 shooting, and 21 rebounds, 11 of them offensive. For the game, the Herd out-rebounded the Eagles, 46-32, 20-11 on the offensive boards. The score was tied nine times, and the lead changed hands 15 times in the 40 minutes of play.
The Herd took the lead for good with 13:04 to go in the game on a made three-pointer by sophomore guard Tre Whitted (Wilmington, N.C.) to give Marshall a 48-45 lead. MU opened their lead further at the 5:11 mark, when Anderson dunked in a missed A.W. Hamilton (Georgetown, Ky.) jumper, and on the subsequent possession, Patton stole a pass and took it coast-to-coast to make the score 63-54. The Herd made important free throws down the stretch (14-of-18) to keep the Eagles at bay.
?The win feels great,? said Marshall guard Enoch Bunch (Nashville, Tenn.). ?I told everyone that it was good to see some smiles again. Before the game, you could tell our guys were focused and ready to play.?
Patton led Marshall, tying a career high with 21 points. He also added six rebounds. Anderson added 12 points and eight rebounds, while Hamilton pitched in 12 and Bunch chipped in 15 points.
Beckley, W.Va., native Michael Ross led the Eagles with 23 points, while Markus Austin added 16 and John Bowler tallied 14 points. James Jackson led Eastern Michigan on the boards with ten.
The Herd return to the road to take on the Western Michigan Broncos Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. The game will be televised by the Thundering Herd/ISP Television Network.
