Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Pikeville
Herd Men Victorious in Donnie Jones' Coaching Debut
11/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 13, 2007
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - New Marshall University coach Donnie Jones launched his head coaching career on Tuesday with a 60-49 victory over his alma mater, Pikeville (Ky.) College, in men's basketball action at the Cam Henderson Center.
Jones, who spent the last 11 seasons as an assistant to Billy Donovan at Florida, watched as his Thundering Herd (1-0) overcame a sluggish start in the first half to upend the Bears (2-2). Pikeville, playing in its fourth regular season game, traded points with the Herd through the opening stages of the contest as Marshall went 4-for-14 from the free-throw line in the first half.
The Bears took a 13-11 lead at 9:11 on a Jeff Ferguson dunk off a nice feed from the perimeter by Haakim Johnson. A Ferguson free throw bumped the PC lead to three, its biggest of the night, before Marshall quickly seized control of the game. Senior Taurean Marshall (Fort Washington, Md.) ignited Marshall's half-closing 16-2 run with an assist on a Tyler Wilkerson (Lexington, Ky.) lay-in followed by a quick steal and dish to Markel Humphrey (Atlanta, Ga.).
Another Taurean Marshall steal with one minute remaining turned into another assist, this time with a dunk finish to newcomer Adam Williams (St. Albans, W.Va.), that gave the Herd its biggest lead of 13 points. Taurean Marshall finished the first half and game with a career-high six assists. For the game, he tied his career-high with 19 minutes and three steals.
"Defense is a major key to our team," Marshall said. "We just let the offense come to us and if we get steals or deflections it leads to easy points or fast break points."
The Herd's run sent the home team into intermission with a 27-16 advantage. Humphrey scored seven of his game-high 21 points during the run, which spanned the half's last eight minutes.
Pikeville closed to within six points, 30-24, four minutes into the second half. The Herd, however, bumped the lead back into double-digits before another Bear run cut into MU's advantage. Down 42-31, Pikeville went on an 11-2 run, thanks in part to a trio of 3-pointers, to close to within two points. After a Marshall timeout, the Herd scored the game's next five points - all from the free-throw line.
Marshall improved its free-throw shooting dramatically in the second half, sinking 11-of-16 (68.8 percent) charity tosses. The Herd's clutch shooting from the line kept Pikeville at bay the rest of the game. MU freshman Tirrell Baines (Laurens, S.C.) put the finishing touches on the Herd's season-opener in the final minute, scoring back-to-back field goals, the latter on an athletic offensive rebound and lay-in.
Baines finished with 10 points and nine rebounds in his collegiate debut. He was one of two true freshmen in the starting lineup for Marshall, joining Matt Walls (Georgetown, Ky.) in the Herd's starting five. Six of Baines' rebounds were from the offensive glass while Walls netted seven points.
"For our guys here tonight, I think it was a great test of will and character down the stretch to make plays and free throws," Jones said. "I was challenging our guys in time outs about finding a way to do the things to win the game. I wasn't concerned with how pretty it was, I just wanted to walk out of here with a "W" and we did."
NAIA-member Pikeville was led by 13 points from William Harris. The junior was 6-for-14 from the floor with seven rebounds. Johnson posted a game-high nine assists.
"This game gave us a lot of experience," Harris said. "We had a chance to win this game and let several opportunities slip away."
Humphrey, a third team All-Conference USA pick, went 8-for-10 from the floor with two assists and five rebounds. Pikeville coach Kelly Wells was impressed with Humphrey. "He's a specimen, he is really a chiseled man and the fact that he's left handed also gives him an awkward approach to things," Wells said. "He's so dog-gone-good at that high post and we tried to tell the guys that when he gets into the high post we got to deny him."
Marshall will have a week off before its next outing on Nov. 20 versus East Tennessee State. Tip-off from the Cam Henderson Center is at 7 p.m.
Photos from tonight's contest versus Pikeville can be viewed and purchased by visiting herdsportsphotos.exposuremanager.com.
