Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
St. Bonaventure
Pitts' Career Game Leads Herd Past Bonnies, 74-65
1/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2011
OLEAN, N.Y. - Junior Damier Pitts scored a career-high 25 points, including 17 in the second half, to lead the Marshall University men's basketball team to a 74-65 road victory at St. Bonaventure on Sunday afternoon.
Pitts helped Marshall (10-3) make a run in the second half before finishing the night hitting 7-13 shots, including five out of nine three-pointers. The Bonnies (7-5) were led by Andrew Nicholson, who recorded a game-high 29 points, connecting on 10-of-17 shots.
"This was a terrific road win for us coming in here and playing a good team," head coach Tom Herrion said. "I thought we guarded pretty well throughout the game, our defense and our rebounding carried us."
"They made a run, as they have all year, they never go away. We buckled, but we did not fold, we made some big plays down the stretch and grabbed a quality win."
Early in the first half, the lead would change hands five times before the Herd asserted itself, opening up a 13-point lead. Down 9-8 six minutes into the contest, Shaquille Johnson knocked down a shot, which sent MU on a 15-1 run.
Johnson scored six in the run while Johnny Thomas had four points. Marshall's defense held the Bonnies to 0-4 shooting and forced four turnovers in the run.
Andrew Nicholson, who scored a game-high 14 points in the opening stanza, helped to close the gap in the final minutes, scoring six of the final seven SBU points to close the deficit to 35-27 entering the halftime break.
Out of the break, Damier Pitts helped the Herd push its lead to 15 points with 17:10 remaining in the game. On consecutive trips down the floor, the junior guard knocked down a trey to extend the MU lead.
With Marshall up 52-37 with 13:52 left in the game, the Bonnies embarked on a 15-3 run while holding the Herd without a field goal for a span of 7:29. Nicholson was once again pivotal in the run for SBU, scoring seven point to help them cut the deficit to just a possession, 55-52. A putback by Thomas halted the run.
The Herd was able to regroup, extending its lead back up to as many as 13 points in the final minute, before holding on for the 74-65 victory. Free throws proved to be pivotal down the stretch. In the final two minutes, MU was able to hit 11 out of 14 free throw attempts to seal the deal.
Johnson finished with 14 points for the Herd while Thomas hauled in a career-best 12 rebounds while tallying seven points.
The Herd dominated the glass once again, outrebounding the Bonnies by a 39-23 margin. Marshall also outshot SBU, 47.8%-43.1%.
Marshall will continue the trip on Wednesday, opening up Conference USA play at UCF. Tip is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on WSAZ.
