Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Memphis
Herd Falls In Memphis
12/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2006
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -Robert Dozier scored 16 points, and Chris Douglas-Roberts added 14 to lead No. 16 Memphis to a 78-59 victory over Marshall on Monday night in the Conference USA opener for both teams.
Memphis (6-1) held the Thundering Herd to 33 percent shooting en route to its fourth straight win. Marshall (2-6) also struggled from the free throw line, hitting 56 percent.
Tre Whitted led Marshall with 14 points, and Markel Humphrey had 12 and nine rebounds.
Memphis built a double-digit lead in the first half, and maintained at least a 10-point advantage much of the rest of the game, although Marshall was able to slow the pace by switching to a zone defense.
But the Memphis pressure caused enough turnovers to allow the Tigers to maintain a comfortable lead, eventually building the advantage to 33 points late in the game. The defen. Joey Dorsey had four of those blocks, and added four steals and 13 rebounds.
Dozier was 5-of-6 shots from the field and made all five of his free throws.
Memphis opened a 15-point lead midway through the first half and was dominating with pressure defense, forcing turnovers and giving Memphis easy baskets. Meanwhile, the Thundering Herd struggled from the field, shooting 18 percent at the time.
But Marshall slowed the pace by going to a zone, and Memphis couldn't get out on the break. The Tigers began settling for outside jumpers with little success, missing six of seven shots after the Herd changed defenses.
"We had hoped to play zone against Memphis," said Marshall head coach Ron Jirsa. "The zone is a great defense, but it's tough stopping Memphis in any way."
But Marshall still could not convert field goals and struggled from the line, allowing Memphis to maintain a double-digit lead for most of the remainder of the half.
A pair of 3-pointer from Jeremy Hunt and a layup from Doneal Mack in the final 1:26 helped Memphis take a 39-22 lead into the halftime break.
Memphis struggled from the field in the opening stages of the second half, hitting only seven of its first 21 shots, but Marshall wasn't shooting much better. The Tigers extended the lead to 59-34 when Dozier scored on a breakaway dunk with just over 10 minutes left, capping an 18-4 Memphis run.
"We played pretty good, but not enough to win," said Jirsa. "We've played in some close games this season, and we didn't want to change what we had been doing. We've played some tough teams so far this season, but Memphis is at the top of the list."
The Herd has eight days off before taking on Wright State in Huntington on December 13. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
