Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
West Virginia
Resilient Herd Falls in Tight Capital Classic
12/14/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. - JP Kambola's last-second 3-point attempt for Marshall bounced off the iron at the buzzer, and No. 22 West Virginia hung on for a 69-66 basketball victory over the Herd on Sunday evening in the annual Chesapeake Energy Capital Classic.
A Charleston Civic Center crowd of 10,749 witnessed another long, tight game in the in-state series. Marshall (3-6) suffered its sixth straight loss, but refused to wither in the face of West Virginia's trapping pressure defense that forced 24 Herd turnovers.
Junior guard Justin Edmonds, who won the Eddie Barrett Most Valuable Player Award for the Herd on his career-high, 18-point night, said Coach Dan D'Antoni's team wanted to play aggressively. And with 11:26 to play, Marshall built a 49-41 lead on an Austin Loop 3-pointer.
"I thought we played a good game, played hard, played up to our capabilities," said Edmonds after his second start in a Herd uniform. "We made a couple mistakes that cost us. As a team, together, this is the best game we've played.
"We had troubles with pressure early in the season, been have practicing against it. West Virginia is a great pressure team, and played hard for the whole 40 minutes. We did decent with it, but we could have done better. I thought we were the best team out there."
There were 56 fouls called in a very physical game, 35 of those in the second half. Marshall was called for 20 second-half fouls, but the Herd was making its free throws in the second half to keep pace with the Mountaineers (9-1). MU had only two field goals in the final 11 minutes, but they were crucial.
Tamron Manning's drive down the right side of the paint to score with 3:18 left cut the WVU lead to 60-59. Coach Bob Huggins' team had rebuilt that edge to 67-63 when Edmonds hit a 22-footer from the right wing - his fourth 3-pointer - to make it 67-66 with 15.6 seconds left.
Marshall nearly forced West Virginia playmaker Juwan Staten to cough up the ball on the ensuing possession, but he eventually was fouled with 7.3 seconds and made both free throws. Kambola's rainbow jumper for the Herd caromed off just before the horn sounded.
"Great game," D'Antoni said after coaching in his first Capital Classic. "I think the fans got their money's worth, and the ones who didn't buy tickets, should've. I think you saw two teams fight extremely hard. It's good for the state. I've heard suggestions for a home-and-home. Here's what I think: Morgantown, Charleston, and the next year, Charleston, Huntington.
"It's good for the state. If they back out now, they're afraid of us. We're coming back. I thought our kids played hard and we had our chance. We've got to work to get better. These moral victories have to stop. We have to start putting W's in the column and I think this team will grow to that."
The Herd shot 50 percent (19-of-38) for the game after starting 17-of-28 in the game's first 28 minutes. WVU had 19 more field goal attempts than the Herd, but the Mountaineers managed only 39-percent marksmanship (22-of-57). West Virginia had a 33-12 bulge in points off turnovers and a 24-8 advantage on points in the paint.
West Virginia helped itself with 21 offensive rebounds and was 22-of-34 at the foul line. Backup guard Jevon Carter (14 points) won the Barrett MVP honor for WVU, which was led by Staten's 15 points.
Besides Edmonds' 18, Austin Loop (13 points) and Ryan Taylor (11) scored in double figures for Marshall, which returns home to the Henderson Center for a 7 p.m. tipoff Tuesday against Division II King (Tenn.) University, which is 6-2 on the season.
