Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Basketball Debuts During Herd Madness
10/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 22, 2009
HUNTINGTON, W.Va.--Marshall men's basketball coach Donnie Jones debuted the 2009-10 edition of the Thundering Herd Oct.22 as part the annual Herd Madness in the Cam Henderson Center.
The night began with a series of drills before shifting to the dunk contest. A fan vote, Hassan Whiteside (Gastonia, N.C., The Patterson School) was awarded the dunk contest title. The 6-11 freshman scored 109 over the two rounds of competition to edge out Shaquille Johnson (So., Jacksonville, Fla., Robert E. Lee H.S.) by five.
Moving onto the team three-point shooting contest, the five-man squad of Tyler Wilkerson (Sr., Lexington, Ky., Lafayette H.S.), Chris Lutz (Sr., Bedford, N.H., Brewster Academy), Tirrell Baines (Jr., Laurens, S.C., The Patterson School), Damier Pitts (So., Charlotte, N.C., Hargrave Military Academy), and Bobby Horodyski (Fr., Gainesville, Fla., Bucholz H.S.) scored 22 points to earn top honors.
The men concluded their session with a scrimmage in which the White team defeated the Green 35-28. Baines led the White with 11 points. Baines went 5-of-6 from the field as the White shot 66.7% (16-of-24) from the floor. Whiteside scored eight points, grabbed five rebounds, blocked four shots and made four steals.
Johnson led the Green squad with 11 points as he also made 5-of-6 field goal attempts. Johnson, a 6-3 sophomore, dished out three assists. Wilkerson scored six points while Dago Pena had four points and a team high five rebounds.
"It was a player's night," said Marshall head coach Donnie Jones. "Tonight was a showcase for the kids after all of the hard work in which they put in during the summer. I thought Tirrell and Shaq both made shots and played hard."
In the women's scrimmage which opened the night's festivities, the Green team earned an 18-5 victory over the White. Chantelle Handy (RS-Sr., Durham, England, Mount de Chantal H.S.) scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds to pace the Green. Tynikki Crook (Detroit, Mich., Pershing H.S.) had four rebounds and scored one point.
