Marshall Bounces Past Blazers, 61-54

Feb. 3, 2007

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HUNTINGTON - Senior forward Travis Aikens (Orlando, Fla.) scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Thundering Herd past UAB, 61-54, Saturday evening in Conference USA action at Henderson Center.

With the win, Marshall improves to 9-13, 4-4 in Conference USA, while the Blazers fall to 11-11, 3-5 in league play.

After weathering an 8-0 Blazer run to start the game, the Herd steadily got back into the contest, and on a Mark Dorris (Cincinnati, Ohio) jumper with 10:14 to go in the first half, Marshall took the lead, 14-13, an advantage it would not relinquish the rest of the way.

Point guard Chris Ross (San Antonio, Texas), who ended the game with a solid line of eight points, six rebounds, six assists, one block, one steal, and only one turnover, ended the first half with a three from the top of the key to put MU up six, 30-24, at the half. Marshall's lead quickly expanded to 14 at 38-24, its largest of the contest, at the 17:40 mark in the second half on an Aikens three, but UAB responded, cutting the Herd lead to two points after a 12-0 run, 38-36, three and half minutes later.

MU then went on a 10-4 run, which was capped off on a Markel Humphrey (Ellenwood, Ga.) three at the 9:44 mark to make the score 48-40. UAB never got closer than four points for the rest of the contest, although Marshall's last field goal came with 4:02 to play. The Herd made four-of-seven in the final two minutes to close the game.

"This was an important game for us," said head coach Ron Jirsa. "February is a big month for us. We have to play well, and we are in the right direction. We are at a point now where we can take advantage since we have a base and can move forward. We are in the middle of the pack in the league and now we head out on the road and we need those too. We are not out of it and we have got to have a big month."

Like it did in the previous game against East Carolina, the Herd played another outstanding defensive game, limiting the Blazers to only 32.8% shooting and 22.2% from beyond the arc. UAB also had a tough time converting at the free throw line, making 10-of-18 shots (55.6%). Marshall made 41.7% of its shots from the floor and 40.9% from beyond the arc. The Herd also outrebounded UAB, 41-38, and forced 11 Blazer turnovers, which resulted in 15 points. Marshall also outscored UAB, 12-0, in fast break points.

Travis Aikens led the Herd with 16 points and nine rebounds. Dorris added 12 points, and Humphrey scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Junior center Jean Francois Bro Grebe (Abidjan, Ivory Coast) swatted six Blazer shots, a new career high.

"I thought we played great tonight," said Humphrey. "We were better on defense, boxed out and played aggressive. Everyone played well tonight and we played well together as a team."

"Coach always tells us about having poise," said Dorris when asked about UAB's early 8-0 run. "We didn't expect to come out 8-0 down, but we didn't panic and make ourselves 12-0 or 14-0 down. We stayed poised, ran through our plays and turned things around."

Wen Mukubu and Mike Davis, Jr., each scored 11 points to lead UAB.

"I thought Marshall played well," said UAB head coach Mike Davis. "They were tougher and came up with the key loose balls when they needed them. We got out to a good start, but it was another one of those situations where we can't get out of the 50s. We played unselfish basketball early and got some offensive rebounds, but once we got up we took some questionable shots. We are a good rebounding team and felt we could get some offensive rebounds, but we didn't execute."

Marshall hits the road for a two game swing next week with games at Tulsa Wednesday and UCF Saturday. The Tulsa game will be aired live on www.HerdZone.com as a part of the Herd All-Access package at 8:05 p.m. EST, and the UCF game will be shown live at noon on Saturday on Comcast Sports Southeast (Channel 68 on Comcast Cable in Huntington).

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Players Mentioned

Travis Aikens

Jean Francois Bro Grebe

Mark Dorris

Markel Humphrey

Chris Ross

Marshall University Athletics