Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Southern Miss
@HerdMBB Downs Southern Miss, Wins Second Straight
1/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Marshall men's basketball (6-15, 2-6) made it two in a row with a 69-54 road win over Southern Miss (6-13, 1-7) on Thursday evening at Reed Green Coliseum.
Led by 13 points from Austin Loop (South Webster, Ohio) and a Ryan Taylor (Indianapolis) double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, the Herd claimed its second consecutive Conference USA victory. Marshall's last back-to-back league wins came in 2012 against East Carolina (Feb. 11), SMU (Feb. 18) and Houston (Feb. 22).
Marshall scored the first nine points of the game over two and a half minutes, with JP Kambola (Toronto, Ontario) contributing six of the Herd's first 11. A 10-0 run over three minutes put Marshall in its largest lead of the half, up 13 at 21-8. DeVince Boykins (Forest City, N.C.) drained three 3-pointers in the first period, tying his career high, with his third coming at 5:31 to give the Herd a 30-19 advantage. Marshall held a double-figure margin atop the Golden Eagles at the break, up 35-25.
To start the second half, the Herd jumped out on a 5-0 run for a 15-point lead, 40-25. Southern Miss responded with a 5-0 stint of its own, but then four points from Taylor kept the Herd rolling, 44-30. A 3-pointer by Justin Edmonds (Albion, Mich.) gave the Herd a 19-point advantage with 5:28 remaining, 60-41. Marshall gained its eventual largest lead of 21 with 2:47 on the clock, 67-46. Six straight points by the Golden Eagles ended the game with Marshall on top, 69-54.
The Herd posted its best shooting mark (.474) since the Capital Classic against West Virginia (.500) on Dec. 14. Marshall topped USM in rebounding (41-32) and held the Eagles to 36.5 percent shooting from the field.
THE D'ANTONI DISH
Quotes from coach Dan D'Antoni:
On the Herd's defense:
"I thought defensively we played really well, and we gave them a lot of problems. They shot 36 percent from the field and 11 percent from the three, and this is a team that has been shooting threes. I'm proud of our kids' defense."
On players stepping up on offense when others get cold:
"That's the way the offense is. It's kind of a free flow and it will find the people who have energy and seem to be making shots. With [Austin] Loop, I don't want him to stop. He made a three at a big time for us. We just have to keep playing. We play with energy, we move the ball and we take shots."
On making improvements and changes:
"The only way they scored in the first half was on our turnovers. I think it was 12 points off our turnovers, and they only had like 10 baskets and we gave them six of them off our turnovers. Once we calmed down on that, we didn't turn over the ball as much and our defense really stepped up. We did have some guys step up; DeVince [Boykins] stepped up and made some threes from the corner. I thought we handled the boards really well. We got a road win, and especially a double-digit road win is a good one."
THE LAST TIMEââ'¬Â¦
The Herd won consecutive games in league play: 2012 - Feb. 11 (East Carolina, 78-68), Feb. 18 (at SMU, 73-68) and Feb. 22 (Houston, 66-58)
The Herd won a C-USA road game: Feb. 15, 2014 (at Charlotte, 59-56)
The Herd defeated Southern Miss: March 5, 2013 (88-84)
The Herd defeated Southern Miss on the road: Dec. 28, 1988 (103-97)
THE SERIES
The Herd now holds a 10-8 advantage in the all-time series, and is 2-6 when playing on the road. Marshall's last win in Hattiesburg came Dec. 28, 1988 (103-97).
LET'S GET SOCIAL
Keep up with the latest news about Herd basketball by liking the team's official Facebook page: Marshall University Basketball. For live in-game updates and news, follow @HerdMBB on Twitter. Want to see photos and behind-the-scenes action? Give @HerdMBB a follow on Instagram.
UP NEXT
The Herd will take on the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 5:30 p.m. ET in Ruston, La. For all the latest information about Marshall men's basketball, follow @HerdMBB on Twitter.
---HerdZone.com---
