Marshall University Athletics
Thundering Herd Men's Basketball Heads To Rice
2/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2010
HUNTINGTON, W.Va.--Marshall University (20-7, 8-4 C-USA) travels to Rice for Conference USA play Feb. 24 in Houston, Texas.
Marshall and Rice are playing for the sixth time with Marshall leading the all-time series 3-2. The teams split a pair of games last season with the Herd defeating the Owls 76-62 in Huntington. Rice returned the favor at the C-USA Tournament when the Owls defeated Marshall 60-59.
The Owls are 8-18 overall and sit in 12th in Conference USA with a 1-11 mark. Rice is led by Tamir Jackson who is scoring 11.4 points per game. Owls' freshman Arsalan Kazemi, who played with Marshall freshman Hassan Whiteside last season at The Paterson School, is Rice's leading rebounder at 9.0 per game. Kazemi is second on the squad in scoring (10.6). He is the first native of Iran to play on scholarship at the NCAA Division I level.
Marshall defeated Tulane 58-55 in Fogelman Arena. For the Thundering Herd, the victory marked the first time since the 1999-00 season (21) in which the Herd have won 20 games in a season.
The first half was a physical affair as nine players (five for Tulane, four for Marshall) were whistled for two fouls. The teams combined for 24 fouls and 27 free throws. Green Wave forward David Booker recorded four of the seven Tulane field goals in the opening frame (including two three's) for 12 points to help give Tulane a 25-24 halftime lead.
The defense from both teams limited the scoring. Tulane's Kendall Timmons tied the game for 12th time at 51 with a pair of free throws with 3:29 to go. Tyler Wilkerson (Sr., Lexington, Ky.) connected on what proved to be the go-ahead field with a jumper at the 3:17 mark. Hassan Whiteside (Fr., Gastonia, N.C.) put the Herd up by four with a jumper with 90 seconds remaining. Booker made 1-of-2 free throws a little under a minute later for a one-possession game (55-52). Wilkerson was fouled on the ensuing inbounds play and he responded by making a pair of free throws for a five-point Marshall advantage.
Tulane raced down the court where Booker's shot was blocked by Whiteside. Shaquille Johnson (So., Jacksonville, Fla.) grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 23 ticks left. Johnson missed the first free throw attempt. Johnson's second free throw attempt was waived off due to a MU lane violation. Johnny Mayhane's three-pointer got the Green Wave to 57-55. After Tulane timeout, the Herd inbounded the ball into the hands of their best free throw shooter, Damier Pitts (So., Charlotte, N.C.).
The 5-10 guard, who entered the game leading Conference USA in free throw shooting could only connect on 1-of-2 free throw shots, making it 58-55. Booker got the rebound and passed the ball to Kevin Sims. Sims, Tulane's second leading scorer, launched a three-point field goal attempt at the buzzer, but the shot hit the front of the rim, giving the Thundering Herd the victory.
Wilkerson led the Herd with 18 points. The 6-8 forward was 7-of-11 from the field and had a game high nine rebounds. Whiteside, who was limited to only 20 minutes due to foul trouble, scored 10 points and blocked seven shots.
Whiteside was named Conference USA Rookie of the Week for the fifth time this season Feb. 22. Whiteside averaged 13.5 points. 7.0 rebounds and 5.5 blocks as the Thundering Herd picked up conference wins over Tulsa and at Tulane during the week. In the win over Tulsa, Whiteside scored a team-high 17 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards in just 21 minutes on the floor. He followed that performance up with 10 points, five rebounds and seven blocks in a road win at Tulane as Marshall picked up its 20th victory on the season.
