Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
UAB*
Men's Basketball Falls Short in Overtime, 75-73
1/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 31, 2009
Huntington, W.Va. -
Marshall University senior forward Markel Humphrey had a potential game-winning three-pointer bounce of the front of the rim with just one second to play in overtime as UAB escaped the Cam Henderson Center with a hard-fought 75-73 win in Conference USA men's basketball action Saturday.
"This was a tough game for our kids," Marshall Head Coach Donnie Jones said. "We battled really hard and I thought we were right there to win it with the opportunities."
Marshall (9-12, 2-5 C-USA) had several opportunities to win the contest. The Thundering Herd's Damier Pitts battled through an off-shooting night and misfired on a potential game-winner from three-point range with three seconds to go in regulation. Prior to that, UAB's Lawrence Kinnard connected on a clutch three-pointer to tie the game at 69-69 with just 29 seconds to go in the second half. Kinnard's three came just seconds after Octavious Spann made just one of two free throws to put the Herd up by three.
"It was a tough night for our young guys going against 4th and 5th year players," Jones said. UAB is a very good basketball team and they made plays down the stretch. They are a great team, but I'm very proud of my guys."
UAB (14-8, 4-3 C-USA) placed four players in double figures, led by Paul Delaney's 19 points. Robert Vaden added 18 and Channing Toney 12. Lawrence Kinnard produced a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, however his greatest contribution of the night came when he blocked a Markel Humphrey shot with just seven seconds to play in overtime that could have sent the game into a second overtime period.
"He is a great athlete and in retrospect I probably should have pump faked," Humphrey said. "I just went up strong and, to his credit, he went up high and got it. I felt good about the shot and was confident that I would make it."
Humphrey finished the game with a season-high 20 points to lead Marshall. Junior forward Octavious Spann earned his first start and responded with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Tyler Wilkerson added 13 points and 13 boards.
The Thundering Herd out-rebounded the Blazers 38 to 29 and won the turnover battle 11-10. However, UAB shot 52.7% (29-55) from the floor and 46.7% (7-15) from three. Marshall shot 42.6% (26-61) from the field and was limited to just 21.4% (3-14) from behind the arc.
Marshall will return to action on Wednesday night when it hosts Tulsa. Tip-off at the Henderson Center is set for 7 p.m.
