Marshall University Athletics
Herd Begins Two Game Road Trip With Game Against SMU
2/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 14, 2006
Marshall GameNotes
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DALLAS, Texas - The Thundering Herd makes its first trip to SMU this Wednesday for a tilt with the Mustangs at Moody Coliseum. Tip-off for the contest is set for 7 p.m. (CST).
Marshall's game with SMU is an important one for the Thundering Herd in terms of the Conference USA race. MU, currently 10th in the league standings, enters with a 2-7 conference record, while the Mustangs, who are 9th in C-USA, come into the contest with a 3-6 record. A Marshall win moves the Herd to 9th, and more importantly, gives MU a tiebreaker advantage over the Mustangs because both teams meet only one time this season. Heading into Wednesday's play, there are a multitude of teams in the middle of the C-USA standings - there are four teams with four wins (UCF, Tulane, Rice, Tulsa), one with three (SMU), two with two (Marshall, Southern Miss), and one with one (East Carolina).
SMU enters the game Wednesday night with an 11-11 overall record, and are coming off of a 69-57 loss to Houston at Hofheinz Pavilion on February 11. Bryan Hopkins leads SMU, averaging 15.5 points per game, with three other players also averaging double digits - Derrick Roberts at 11.8 points per game, Dez Willingham at 10.1 points per game, and Devon Pearson at 10.0 points per game. Pearson leads the Mustangs on the glass, averaging 7.8 rebounds per contest, good for third-best in the league.
The Herd enters the game with a 9-13 overall record, and in its last time out, Marshall lost to #3-ranked Memphis, 91-81, Saturday afternoon at the Henderson Center. The Herd led by one at the half, 44-43, but had an 11-point advantage at one point in the first stanza. The two teams battled back and forth in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Tigers put the game away with a 15-0 spurt midway through the second half. The Herd was led by true freshman wing Markel Humphrey (Ellenwood, Ga.), who scored a career-high 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Senior center Mark Patton (Barboursville, W.Va.) scored 13 points in only 18 foul-plagued minutes and junior point guard Chris Ross (San Antonio, Texas) chipped in ten points and seven assists.
There were a number of firsts in the game against Memphis on February 11. #3-ranked Memphis was the highest ranked team to play in the 24-year history of the Henderson Centr, with East Tennessee State, ranked #13 in the AP Poll during the 1990-91 season, the highest before the Tigers' arrival. Marshall won the game against the Bucs, 107-103, behind Marshall legend John Taft's 43-point, 13-rebound senior-night performance.
It was also the first sellout in the Henderson Center since since December 12, 1987, when Marshall defeated West Virginia, 82-72. It was also the first sellout since the building was renovated in 1997-98, when capacity was reduced from 10,000-plus to 9,043.
Senior center Mark Patton leads Marshall in both scoring and rebounding at 14.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
The game tips at 7 p.m. (CST), and can be heard on the region on the ISP/Thundering Herd Network and on the Internet at www.HerdZone.com.
