Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Men's Basketball Heads To Old Dominion Saturday Night
11/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2009
HUNTINGTON, W.Va.--The Marshall University men's basketball team hits the road for the first time, traveling to Old Dominon for a Saturday night matchup beginning at 7 p.m. Marshall is playing Old Dominion for the eighth time with Marshall leading the all-time series 4-3. The Thundering Herd defeated Old Dominion 68-64 last season in Huntington.
Old Dominion is 3-0 after defeating Liberty 73-41 in Lynchburg, Va. Nov. 19. The Monarchs are concluding a stretch of four games in seven days against the Thundering Herd. The Monarchs won the inaugural CBI Tournament last season, going 25-10. ODU returns all five starters from a year ago including 6-10 senior center Gerald Lee who earned first team All-Conference and first team All-District honors a year ago. Lee is leading Old Dominion in scoring (10.3) and rebounding (5.7).
In a game which featured 14 lead changes and three ties, Damier Pitts went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 4:34 of the game to lead Marshall past Middle Tennessee State 63-60 in men's basketball action Nov. 17 in the Cam Henderson Center. Trailing 30-29 at halftime, the Blue Raiders opened the second half on a 11-3 run to take a 40-33 lead with just over 16 minutes to play. The Thundering Herd responded, tying the game 42-42 when Tyler Wilkerson connected on a jumper a little over three minutes later. Middle Tennessee bounced back, taking a 54-51 advantage on a Calvin O'Neil field goal at the 5:34 mark. Pitts sank a pair of free throws at 4:34 to make it 54-53. Tirrell Baines made a steal on the next Blue Raiders' possession. Baines put back a Darryl Merthie three-point field goal attempt with a dunk to give the Herd a 55-54 lead with 3:57 remaining. A second consecutive Middle Tennessee State turnover led to a Baines' dunk and a three-point MU lead. Marshall got a stop on the defensive lead which led to a Baines' layup with 2:05 left. James Washington connected on a jumper 10 seconds later to make it a one possession game. The teams exchanged turnovers before Pitts was fouled by J.T. Sulton with 35 ticks remaining. He made the pair of free throws for a 61-56 Herd lead.
A Trevor Ottley field goal with 25 seconds to go got Middle Tennessee back to a one-possession deficit at 61-58. Pitts took the inbounds pass and was fouled. His two free throws created a 63-58 Marshall lead. A Blue Raiders' turnover led to a pair of Wilkerson free throw attempts. The 6-8 forward missed both giving the Blue Raiders the ball. Pitts fouled Washington with nine seconds remaining. Washington sank both for what proved to be the final score of the game. Pitts slipped on the floor, turning the ball over with seven seconds remaining. Rod Emanuel took a three-pointer at the five-second mark. He missed, Calvin O'Neil got the rebound, but his three-point attempt at the buzzer fell short, securing the victory for the Thundering Herd. Baines led Marshall with 12 points. Baines added five rebounds and two steals. Wilkerson and Shaquille Johnson each scored 11 points while Hassan Whiteside scored eight points and pulled down a game high 10 rebounds.
Pitts, who suffered from a concussion suffered in practice earlier this month, was only cleared by the Marshall medical staff the day prior to the Middle Tennessee game. The 5-10 point guard scored eight points and added three assists. Marshall held a 29-15 advantage in free throw attempts, but only made 16 attempts from the charity stripe compared to 12 for the Blue Raiders.
