Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
UAB
Marshall Men Escape UAB, 53-52
3/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 7, 2007
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MEMPHIS - Junior guard Mark Dorris (Cincinnati, Ohio) scored 15 points as the Herd hung on to defeat UAB, 53-52, Wednesday night in first round tournament action at the 2007 Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship by Aeropostale.
The Herd, who improves to 13-18 on the season, held on in the second half despite shooting only 25% from the floor and an 0-for-9 performance from beyond the arc in the second period. Marshall played its best half of the season in the first half, when it shot 55.6% from the field, and held a 38-24 lead at the break.
Despite MU's horrid second half, the Herd held the lead for most of the game from the 12:09 mark in the first half until late in the game. Marshall's lead expanded to 14 on a Dorris three with 28 seconds to go in the first half, its largest of the game.
The Blazers clawed back into the contest in the second half behind great defense, forcing 13 Marshall turnovers in the second half. UAB cut the MU lead to one, 51-50, with 1:10 to go on a Wen Mukubu three, and on the next possession, the Blazers took its first lead in over 28 minutes when Paul Delaney III took a long defensive rebound and went the length of the court to make the score 52-51 in favor of UAB. Marshall quickly inbounded the ball, and point guard Chris Ross (San Antonio, Texas) found Markel Humphrey (Ellenwood, Ga.) for a layup with 24 seconds to play in the contest.
After a UAB timeout, Mike Davis, Jr. missed a jumper, and Dorris came down with the rebound and was fouled by Davis. Dorris missed the front end of a one and one, which set the Blazers up with the final shot of the contest. After another UAB timeout and 1.3 seconds to play in regulation, Delaney III caught the inbounds pass, turned and missed a 12 foot fade away jumper off of the glass.
"I want to give UAB credit," said Marshall head coach Ron Jirsa. "They have been one of our toughest opponents. We rode a great first half for the rest of the game, and then made a big lay-up at the end. They came back strong. We knew they had a run, but we were able to hold them off at the end.
"We were a little tentative against their 1-2-2 press in the second half, but we did the right things at the very end. We wanted to keep the game going fast. They did a good job of getting into their press when they scored. When we got it in the middle to Mark (Dorris), we were able to have success, but when we did not, we couldn't get right into our motion offense. We need to be a little more aggressive at that part of the game."
Dorris led Marshall with 15 points. Humphrey also added double digits with 12 points and led the team with eight rebounds. Back-up center Jesse Oglesby (Lithonia, Ga.) played his best game of his career, making 2-of-2 from the floor in ten minutes of action. Oglesby's presence on the floor gave the Herd an emotional lift in the game.
"It's great momentum for the team when he (Oglesby) gets out there and contributes," said Dorris. "He plays as hard as he can. He's a good character guy and he never takes a possession off or anything like that. He challenges everybody on our team to step up and be better with how hard he plays. He stepped up tonight and hit some big baskets."
"I was sprinting down the court, and he (Paul Delaney) got the lay-up," said Humphrey when asked about his game-winning basket. "We got the ball out real fast. I just sprinted back down the court as fast as I could. I didn't think I would be that open. I just went down the floor as fast as I could, and I got the basket."
UAB's Lawrence Kinnard led all scorers and rebounders with 17 points and nine rebounds. Delaney III also chipped in ten points.
"It's been a long, long frustrating year for this basketball team," said UAB head coach Mike Davis. "We played some of the games that we just couldn't really get the effort we needed. I thought we did a great job in the second half at coming back. I have to give Marshall a lot of credit because they stepped out and jumped on us quick. They played like the way the needed to have a lead like that and we played the way we needed not to play to be behind (at halftime). It was really frustrating to be in this situation. From this day forward, we move on."
Marshall takes on #6-ranked and #1 seed Memphis Thursday evening at 7 p.m. EST. The game can be seen live on CSTV, and can be heard live on the ISP/Thundering Herd Network and on the worldwide web at www.HerdZone.com
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