Marshall University Athletics
Herd To Face Former Southern Conference Foe Saturday
11/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 19, 2010
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall University men's basketball team will open up play in the Global Sports Shootout on Saturday, playing host to Chattanooga at 7:30 p.m. inside the Cam Henderson Center.
Saturday's game will mark the first of four-straight shootout games and will also mark the third of four home games to open up Marshall's 2010-11 campaign.
Marshall is coming off of a record-setting performance on Monday night as the Herd improved to 2-0 following a 93-48 victory over Glenville State. As a team, the Herd shot .690 for the game, eclipsing the previous program record of .667, set on January 8, 1997 against Davidson.
Junior Johnny Thomas led the way for MU with 16 points. Thomas has jump-started his collegiate career at Marshall after playing in 25 games at North Carolina State. As a member of the Wolfpack, Thomas failed to reach double figures, but in two games with the Herd, he has scored 12 and 16 points, respectively.
Another pleasant surprise for the Herd has been the play of Johnny Higgins. The 6-2 guard dished out seven assists in each game thus far, putting him second in Conference USA. He had a stellar all-around game against Glenville State, scoring 10 points while dishing out seven assists, pulling in seven boards and recording 5 steals.
The Mocs enter Saturday's contest with a record of 1-2. After losses at Tennessee and home to Austin Peay to open up the season, UTC rebounded with a 73-68 win at Kennesaw State on Wednesday evening.
Josh Odem is the leading scorer for UTC averaging 11.3 PPG while DeAntre Jefferson led the Mocs against Kennesaw State with 18 points.
UTC players Chris Early and Keegan Bell have ties to the Thundering Herd and the Huntington community. Early is a Huntington native and played at Huntington High School while Bell is the son of former MU assistant Dan Bell, who coached at Marshall in the 1980's.
Tip has been moved to 7:30 p.m. at the Cam Henderson Center. Fans are also reminded that the SAAC Food Drive has been extended through Saturday's game. Student-athletes will be collecting canned and non-perishable food items at the door. All donations will benefit the Huntington Area Food Bank.
On Monday, the Herd will continue play in the Global Sports Shootout, taking on Jackson State. JSU fell to 0-3 following a 63-49 loss at No. 17 Baylor on Thursday. They will face Louisville on Saturday before traveling to Huntington for Monday's game. Fans will be treated to music from Kala DeHart with RiverTown, who will perform before the game, at halftime and following the contest on Monday evening.
