Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Rice
@HerdMBB Earns Best Start to C-USA Play, Defeats Rice 94-90
1/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HOUSTON - Senior forward James Kelly (Ann Arbor, Mich.) posted his third game of 30 points or more in a 94-90 road win for Marshall men's basketball at Rice on Saturday night at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Marshall moved to 9-9, and remains atop the Conference USA standings at 5-0 (with UAB). Rice fell to 6-12, 1-4 in the league. The Herd is 5-0 in conference play for the first time since going 7-0 to start the 1996-97 Southern Conference season. Additionally, Marshall posted its school-record fifth consecutive conference game scoring 90 points or more. The last time the Herd scored 90 points or more in five consecutive games was during in the 1971-72 season, when Marshall won the first seven games of the year.
Kelly led the Herd with 32 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the field, and grabbed six rebounds. Junior forward Ryan Taylor (Indianapolis) recorded his fourth double-double of the year (the 25th of his career) with 14 points and a season-high 15 rebounds. Stevie Browning (Logan, W.Va.) had his second consecutive game with career-high scoring, posting 20 points. Redshirt freshman C.J. Burks (Martinsburg, W.Va.) rounded out double-figure scoring for Marshall with 14 points.
Although the Herd reached a nine-point advantage at the 13:27 mark, the game was close for much of the first half, with three ties and two lead changes. Rice led for a brief 18 seconds from 3:46 to 3:28, but never re-gained it. Browning led the Herd with three 3-pointers and 11 points through the first 20 minutes, as the Herd took a 39-37 lead into the locker room at the break.
The teams stayed within six points of each other with for three-quarters of the second period, until the Herd broke away for a seven-point advantage (83-76) with 4:48 remaining. Kelly hit a couple clutch jump shots to keep the Owls at bay over the next few minutes, however, Rice cut it to two points (92-90) on a layup by Marcus Evans with 13 seconds remaining. Kelly answered with a coast-to-coast layup to seal the victory, 94-90.
MILESTONES
- School record: five consecutive 90-point conference games
- Jon Elmore: seven rebounds (career high)
- Stevie Browning: 20 points (career high)
- Ryan Taylor: 15 rebounds (season high)
WITH THE WIN, THE HERDââ'¬Â¦
- Earned its best start to Conference USA play (5-0)
- Earned its best start to conference play (5-0) since going 7-0 in 1996-97 (Southern Conference under Greg White; Dec. 23 to Jan. 25, 1997)
- Earned its longest win streak since winning the first five games of 2011-12
- Earned its longest win streak in Conference USA play since winning five consecutive games from Feb. 12 to 26, 2011
- Earned back-to-back road wins for the first time since Jan. 7 and 11, 2012, at Rice (63-61) and UAB (61-59), respectively
THE LAST TIMEââ'¬Â¦
- The Herd scored 90 points or more in five or more consecutive games: seven games from Dec. 4 to Dec 20, 1971, under Carl Tacy (reached NCAA Tournament that season)
UP NEXT
The Herd will stay on the road, visiting Charlotte (Jan. 21) and Old Dominion (Jan. 23). For the latest information about Marshall men's basketball, follow @HerdMBB on Twitter.
---HerdZone.com---
