Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
East Carolina
Marshall Upends East Carolina, 56-52
1/31/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 31, 2007
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HUNTINGTON - Sophomore forward Markel Humphrey (Ellenwood, Ga.) scored a team-high 17 points to hold off a feisty East Carolina team, 56-52, in Conference USA action Wednesday night at Henderson Center.
With the win, Marshall improves to 8-13, 3-4 in C-USA play, while the Pirates drop to 5-15, 0-7 in the league.
It was MU's game from the outset in a very sloppy contest, with both teams struggling from the floor for most of the night. Marshall took the lead on a Markel Humphrey dunk four minutes into the contest, and never trailed again the rest of the night. East Carolina tied the game with 4:15 to go in the game at 40, but Marshall responded with a 6-0 run to come away with the win.
The Herd led by six, 23-17, at the half in a very low scoring affair. The 17-point Pirate first half was the lowest for an opponent in the history of the Henderson Center, surpassing three previous 18-point opponent halves. East Carolina shot only 20.7% in the first half (6-29), and the Herd could only muster 34.8% (8-23) and 18.2% from three (2-11).
Both teams fared better in the second half, with Marshall ending the game at 40.9%, 26.3% from three, and 60% from the free throw line. The Pirates shot 28.8% from the floor, 30.8% from three, and 62.5% from the charity stripe. ECU outrebounded the Herd, 44-31 on the night.
"I don't think we played particularly well," said Marshall head coach Ron Jirsa. "We played better in the second half in particular. The big thing was we won the game, and that is the goal. We got Chris Ross back tonight and that was key for us. He had a good second half performance.
"It was big having Chris Ross back tonight," continued Jirsa. "I think he looked confident with the ball out there. In a game like that we have got to get the ball to Markel (Humphrey) and let him make things happen. Especially in a game like that, Markel has to get his hands on the ball each possession."
Humphrey led the Marshall effort with 17 points and seven rebounds, both team highs. Mark Dorris (Cincinnati, Ohio) was the only other Marshall double-figure scorer with 12 points.
"I'm not surprised it was a close game," said Dorris. "They are a really scrappy team. There wasn't much flow to the game, and any team at the collegiate level will give you a run for your money."
"We contested a lot of shots tonight," said Humphrey. "They are a good shooting team and we knew that we had to contest their threes and make them drive and go against our big guys in the middle.
"It was a slow, slow paced game. We're not used to that. We like to play fast, and it got sloppy and they got a lot of rebounds."
ECU's Courtney Captain led all scorers with 18 points. Darrell Jenkins added 13 points, and Cory Farmer chipped in ten.
"I have to give Marshall a lot of credit," said ECU head coach Ricky Stokes. "Ron (Jirsa) did a terrific job tonight. Marshall made the key plays down the stretch, but I also have to give our team credit. We did a better job of executing in the second half. We didn't turn the ball over as much. Marshall sped us up in the first half, and we didn't shoot the ball as well as we would have liked."
The Herd closes out a three game homestand with a game against UAB Saturday evening. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
