Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Tulane
Marshall Tops Tulane, 89-79
1/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 16, 2010
HUNTINGTON, W.Va.-Marshall University (15-2) defeated Tulane University (6-11, 1-3 C-USA) 89-79 in Conference USA men's basketball action Jan. 16 in the Cam Henderson Center. The Thundering Herd are 4-0 in C-USA play, marking the first time since the 2002-03 season when Marshall was a member of the Mid-American Conference, that the program is 4-0 in conference play. The game was played in front of a 7,243 fans, the largest crowd to witness a Herd game not against Memphis since Feb. 26, 2002 when Marshall played Ohio in front 6,626 fans.
Hassan Whiteside nearly turned in his second consecutive triple-double as the freshman from Gastonia, N.C. scored a season high 20 points (9-of-14 shooting), grabbed 12 rebounds, and blocked eight shots. The 7-0 post player also played a season high 34 points. Shaquille Johnson was 5-of-6 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line for 18 points. He also dished out a game high six assists. Dago Pena scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half. The 6-6 win added five rebounds and two assists. Chris Lutz made 7-of-9 free throw attempts as he scored 10 points.
Marshall took its largest lead of the game, 13 points, at the 4:42 mark of the second half. Tulane would get as close as five down the stretch, but a Tyler Wilkerson jumper and a pair of Pena free throws pushed the lead back to nine as the Herd took home the game by 10. Asim McQueen led the Green Wave with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds. Kris Richard also scored 20 points while David Booker added 13.
"I am very proud of the victory tonight," said Marshall head coach Donnie Jones. "What a hard-fought conference game tonight. That is a very tough Tulane team and they came out and played with a lot of energy. Our guys found a way down the stretch to finish it. We have to do a better job handling the pressure like we did against Central Florida. But we have to be able to finish games better than we did today. I am proud of our guys to find a way to win though. Obviously, Damier Pitts cramped up at the end for not being with the team for four or five days, but as you see, I thought Darryl Merthie played well, and Antonio Hayman as well defensively. He has been the hospital for five days and only practiced with us once this week. We missed Tirrell Baines tonight and we look forward to getting him back in a week hopefully. What a great team effort tonight. I thought Hassan did a great job rebounding when we needed it. He made some big time plays. How about the crowd tonight, they really excited our guys tonight. It was an incredible sixth man having all those fans here, they got us through it. We are proud of the win and proud to be 4-0 in Conference USA. We will cherish this victory tonight and get ready for the West Virginia Mountaineers starting tomorrow."
"The crowd gave us a boost," Johnson said. "Talk about a home court advantage. They were loud and rowdy. It was difficult for Tulane to get into their offense. The crowd was the sixth man."
Marshall faces No. 10 West Virginia (13-3) on Jan. 20 as part of the annual Chesapeake Energy Classic in Charleston, W.Va. The game begins at 9 p.m. in the Charleston Civic Center.
NOTES--Marshall has won six in a row, marking the first time since the 1994-95 season, the Herd have won at least six games on least two occasions in the same season (Marshall won seven in a row earlier this year)...Marshall began the game on a 10-4 run and never trailed...There was one tie in the game...Nigel Spikes missed his first free throw in Conference USA play, he is now 9-of-10 in league play this season...Newly minted Marshall head football coach John "Doc" Holiday spoke to a standing ovation during the second media timeout of the first half.
