Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Jackson State
Herd Rebounds With 66-60 Win Over Jackson State
11/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 22, 2010
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Shaquille Johnson led the way with 18 points as the Thundering Herd men's basketball team held off Jackson State, 66-60, Monday evening at the Cam Henderson Center.
Johnson hit 5-of-10 shots from the field and added seven free throws on his way to a team-high 18 points. Tirrell Baines continued his solid start to the season, scoring 13 while pulling in eight boards to lead Marshall (3-1).
"We are happy with the win. You keep score and we are happy with the win but we did not play well tonight," Marshall head coach Tom Herrion said. "I thought we executed much better from the other night and our half-court offense. We turned the ball over a lot and played very sloppy. We have a long way to go."
Jackson State (0-5) came out of the gate strong, scoring the first five points before the Herd came back with ten-straight. Johnson tallied five in the run. The Tigers fought right back, and with 6:30 remaining in the first half, took a 17-16 lead on a Tyrone Hanson trey. The lead would change hands three more times in the half before MU went to the locker room with a 31-28 edge.
The second half saw Marshall extend its advantage to as many as 15 points, 55-40, with 7:38 left. Just when it looked like the game was out of reach for JSU, they put up the next eight points to close the gap to 55-48 with 4:24 remaining.
Jackson State closed the gap to as little as four points in the final minute when Cason Bruk hit a three-pointer, but Johnny Higgins hit a pair of clutch free throws to seal the win.
Marshall had another solid shooting performance, hitting 52.8% of its shots while holding the Tigers to just 35.6%. The Tigers finished with a 36-28 edge on the boards and a 26-24 advantage on points in the paint.
Tyrone Hanson was the leading scorer for JSU, hitting 8-of-15 shots, including three treys. De-Suan Dixon tallied 14 points and a team-high seven boards.
Dago Pena recorded 11 points for the Herd while DeAndre Kane chipped in ten along with five assists.
Free throw shooting became an issue for both teams, which combined to hit just 33-of-61 attempts. Jackson State hit an even 50% (11-22) while the Herd sank 22 out of 39.
Marshall will have five days to get ready for its first road trip of the season against Louisville on Saturday. The Cardinals stand at 3-0 following a 106-65 victory over Chattanooga on Monday. The Herd will wrap up the Global Sports Shootout next Monday, playing host to FIU at 7 p.m. at the Cam Henderson Center.
