Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Appalachian State
Marshall Falls 80-72 To Appalachian State In CIT Quarterfinals
3/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 22, 2010
HUNTINGTON, W.Va.--Donald Sims scored 30 points to lead Appalachian State (24-12), the No. 6 seed past Marshall University (24-10), the No. 1 seed, in the quarterfinals of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament in the Henderson Center. Sims, who is 25th in Division I in scoring, was 9-of-23 from the field, 4-of-10, from three-point range. Marshall was led by Tyler Wilkerson who scored 19 points (7-of-14) from the field.
The Mountaineers led by four at halftime and took their largest lead of the game, 67-49, with 10:37 remaining. The Thundering Herd cut the lead to eight on a Wilkerson three-pointer with 4:20 to go, but Appalachian State would push the lead back into double figures the next time down. ASU led by 14 with 55 seconds remaining before Marshall scored the final six points of the game including Wilkerson's second three-pointer of the night with eight seconds to go.
Appalachian State outrebounded the Herd 47-28, 19-10 on the offensive glass. The Mountaineers made 9-of-19 three-point attempts including seven in the first half. Isaac Butts hauled in 16 rebounds for the Apps. MU point guard Damier Pitts scored 10 points and dished out a game high eight assists. Marshall charted 20 assists against eight turnovers.
"Appalachian State played exceptionally well," "(Donald) Sims did a perfect job running the show for them - he made everything happen. I am proud of seniors. To see the way Tyler Wilkerson has improved since the day the day we arrived has been as much as any as I have coached. I am really proud how he has led this basketball team this year. Chris Lutz battled through injuries the past couple of weeks; he was a big part of what we have done this year and getting our program back on the map. Darryl Merthie leaves here with the school record for games played. We fell a little short tonight, but I am not going to focus on tonight's game as much as I am on how much these guys have accomplished this year. We are going to build on this and look forward to next season."
The Mountaineers will await the results of the other three quarterfinal games before their semifinal game is assigned to them. Check http://www.collegeinsider.com/tournament for more details.
NOTES: Marshall reset the school record for most points scored in a season...The Herd recorded 2,717 points in 2009-10, breaking the old mark of 2,683 set during the 1987-88 season...Marshall's 24 victories this season are the seventh most in school history...Hassan Whiteside blocked three shots, raising his school and Conference USA record to 182...Whiteside's 182 blocks are the fourth most in a single season by a Division I player...Wilkerson ends his career with 1,035 points, the 39th most in Marshall school history.
