Marshall Men Defeat SMU, 52-49

Feb. 14, 2007

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HUNTINGTON - Mark Dorris (Cincinnati, Ohio) scored 14 points and Markel Humphrey (Ellenwood, Ga.) added a double-double to lead the Herd to a 52-49 win over SMU Wednesday night at Henderson Center.

With the win, Marshall improves to 10-15, 5-6 in C-USA, while SMU drops to 13-12, 2-9 in league action.

Both teams struggled in the first half, combining for only 36 points in the opening stanza, an all-time low for the Henderson Center. The Herd and Mustangs were locked at 18 at the break, with both teams looking sluggish early on. Marshall was 0-for-9 from three in the first half, and both teams committed a combined total of 15 turnovers.

SMU came out in the second half on an 8-0 run to take a 28-20 lead at the 16:40 mark, and after Marshall cut the Mustang lead to four on two occasions in the next five minutes, SMU responded with another eight-point lead at the 9:19 mark, 39-31, on a three by Ike Ofoegbu. Ofoegbu ended the game with 18 points and 16 rebounds, both game highs.

Marshall then went on an 18-1 run that put the homestanding Herd up for good, with the stretch ending on two Humphrey free throws to make the score 48-40 with 1:03 to play. Marshall maintained its eight point lead until the 17 second mark, when Travis Aikens (Orlando, Fla.) fouled SMU guard Dez Willingham on a three-point attempt. Willingham knocked down all three to make the score 51-46 with 13 seconds to go. On the ensuing inbounds, Tre Whitted (Wilmington, N.C.) turned the ball over, and after a Mustang timeout, Brian Epps knocked in a three to close the Herd lead to two, 51-49, with ten seconds to play.

SMU fouled Dorris, who made one of two at the charity stripe, and then had a three-point shot by Willingham with three seconds to play that went off of the back iron.

"It is good to get a win," said Marshall head coach Ron Jirsa. "It's good to be back at home and to get a win here. Hopefully we can build on this win. We're in the same situation as a week and a half ago where we want to take this win and build on it.

"We had some big plays in the second half. Tyler (Wilkerson) had a big block and really played like an upperclassman. Markel (Humphrey) made some big shots. So we have some good things to build on.

Dorris led the team with 14 points, and Humphrey garnered his fourth career double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds with a strong second half performance (nine points, nine rebounds). Ross added 11 points, and Tyler Wilkerson (Lexington, Ky.) played a career-high 29 minutes, and added six points, eight rebounds, two blocks, and three steals to the stat sheet.

"It felt great to be back home," said Humphrey. "We always play better at home and with more intensity since it is a better atmosphere. Now we've got to take advantage of the next game at home and get some momentum before we go back on the road."

Ofoegbu led all players with 18 points and 16 rebounds. He was the only double-digit scorer for SMU.

"I credit Ron (Jirsa) and his staff," said SMU coach Matt Doherty. "They could easily have packed it in after losing two in a row and we had them down, but they didn't. I have a fondness for Ron, and people know of my relationship with Bob (MacKinnon), and they have a lot of pride and tradition here. They showed that in how they fought tonight. It never is easy to play Marshall, especially here, so I am glad we only have to play them once.

"I am disappointed because looking back, we could have won. We only shot 28 percent, and we are better than that. If we just make a couple more shots, we win that game."

Marshall takes on Tulane this Saturday at 7 p.m. in Henderson Center. The Herd defeated the Green Wave earlier this season in New Orleans.

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Players Mentioned

Travis Aikens

Mark Dorris

Markel Humphrey

Tre Whitted

Tyler Wilkerson

Marshall University Athletics