Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Rice
Marshall Drops Close One To Rice, 60-59
3/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 11, 2009
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -Lawrence Ghoram scored 18 points and Rice held off a late Marshall rally to defeat the Thundering Herd 60-59 on Wednesday in the opening round of the Conference USA tournament.
The 10th-seeded Owls (10-21) also got 14 points from Connor Frizzelle and 12 from Rodney Foster, while shooting 40 percent from the field (20 of 50) in the game.
Darryl Merthie led Marshall (15-17) with 14 points, while Shaquille Johnson added 13 - 12 of them in the second half to key the Thundering Herd comeback. Damier Pitts finished with 12 points for Marshall.
Pitts' 3-pointer with under one second left cut the Rice lead to the final margin, but seventh-seeded Marshall never got the ball back.
Marshall hit only three of its 24 shots from long-range, and the Thundering Herd was outscored 40-37 in the second half after leading by two points at halftime. Both teams had trouble holding on to the basketball as they combined for 37 turnovers.
The Thundering Herd finishes its season at 15-17 overall.
