Marshall University Athletics
Men's Basketball To Face SMU Saturday Evening
2/25/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2011
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - On Saturday, the Marshall University men's basketball team will take on SMU at 7 p.m. at the Cam Henderson Center. Fans are also invited to arrive for the Alumni Game, which is set to begin at 4:45 p.m.
Marshall made it four in a row on Wednesday with a dominating 79-61 win over Tulsa at the Cam Henderson Center. The Herd scored the first nine points of the game before making it an 18-2 run to begin the game. The lead would be as many as 24 in the second half before Tulsa would close it to 18 at the final buzzer. Tirrell Baines led the way with a career-high 26 points while Damier Pitts chipped in 19.
With just three regular season games left in his career, Tirrell Baines is making the most of his final stretch with the Thundering Herd. In the win over Tulsa, Baines set a career mark with 26 points, eclipsing his previous high of 24 points, which was set three years ago. The senior is third on the team, averaging 12.5 PPG and is the leading rebounder on the squad with 6.7 per game. He has also taken care of business on the offensive glass, ranking second in the league in that category.
Herd coach Tom Herrion is inching closer to his 100th career win. Following an 80-38 stint at the College of Charleston, Herrion has started his Marshall career at 19-9. With one more win, Herrion will become the first coach since Greg White to earn his 100th career win. White hit the landmark on March 1, 2002 in a 104-87 win over Akron.
With its next win, the Herd will win its 20th game of the season, its 20th season with 20 or more wins in program history. After winning 24 last season, Marshall is looking for consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time since the 1986-87 and 1987-88 seasons. It would also mark the sixth 20-win season streak for the program. The longest streak was a four-year span from 1936-1940 where MU won a total of 96 games.
In MU's four-game win streak, it has taken an early lead and has not looked back. In 165 minutes of action, the Herd has trailed for just 8:46 and of that total, 3:51 came in overtime at Tulane. Marshall has scored first in three of those four games and made huge runs to open each contest, jumping on ECU, 12-3, taking a 10-5 advantage against Rice, starting 11-2 at Tulane and making an 18-2 run to lead the way against Tulsa.
SMU enters play on Saturday with a 17-10 overall record and an 8-5 tally in C-USA action. The Mustangs have won seven of their last nine contests, including a 76-66 overtime win against Rice on Wednesday. Their strength is in their shooting. SMU is the top shooting team in C-USA and tenth in the nation, shooting 48.5%. Their three-point shooting is also stellar, topping the league and ranked 11th in the country, hitting 40.1% of their treys.
Papa Dia is the fourth ranked scorer in the league, averaging 18.4 PPG. He leads SMU in rebounding with nine per game and is the most accurate shooter in C-USA and in the top 15 in the nation, hitting 58.3% of his shot attempts. Robert Nyakundi does his damage beyond the arc, shooting 48.3% from three-point range. That is second in the country and by far the best in the league. Nyakundia hit four treys en route to 26 points against Rice on Wednesday. Dia was not far behind, putting up a 20-point, 13-rebound effort against the Owls.
The Herd owns a perfect 5-0 mark against the Mustangs. Of the five games, four have been decided by three points or less. Last season, Marshall grabbed a 73-57 win in Dallas. The 16-point margin of victory by far marked the highest margin in the series.
In last seasons's matchup, the Herd came away with a 73-57 win in Dallas. Tyler Wilkerson led MU with 22 points while Hassan Whiteside chipped in 17. Papa Dia went for 18 points and 13 boards to lead SMU. The Herd led 35-31 at the half before pulling away for the 16-point victory.
After wrapping up a week-long homestand, Marshall will travel to UTEP on Wednesday for its final road game of the regular season before wrapping the year up at home against UCF on Saturday, March 5.
