Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Charlotte
Resilient @HerdMBB Falls Short at Charlotte, 103-95
1/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Despite a league-leading ninth double-double by senior forward James Kelly (Ann Arbor, Mich), Marshall's comeback bid fell short at Charlotte, 103-95, in men's basketball action on Thursday night at Halton Arena.
It was the Herd's (9-10, 5-1) first loss in Conference USA play, snapping a five-game win streak. In spite of the loss, Marshall reached the 90-point mark for its sixth consecutive game, extending a school record in conference play. The last time the Herd scored 90 or more points in six consecutive games was during a seven-game stretch from Dec. 4 to 20, 1971.
"Obviously [Charlotte] shot the ball really well," coach Dan D'Antoni said. "They play almost identical with us. On 3-point shooting they were 10-of-15. We made more, but [Andrien] White didn't miss. We gave him a couple of looks but he hit some tough shots. They deserved to win, they were more intent, and more focused."
Kelly's double-double was his fourth in the last six games, with 25 points and a team-high 14 rebounds. Sophomore point guard Jon Elmore (Charleston, W.Va.) was the Herd's high-scorer with a career-high 27 points, including five 3-pointers. He played all 40 minutes. Juniors Ryan Taylor (Indianapolis) and Stevie Browning (Logan, W.Va.) rounded-out double-figure scoring for Marshall with 17 and 14 points, respectively.
The Herd jumped out to a 5-0 lead at 18:44 after a Browning layup and a Taylor 3-pointer. The lead changed hands five times with one tie over the next four minutes, until the 49ers pulled away on an 8-0 run to gain a 19-12 advantage at 13:45. A 6-0 run put the Herd within one point, down 23-22 at 11:14, but Charlotte answered with a 10-0 spurt to reach a double-digit lead (33-22) with 6:59 to go in the half. Despite being handily outrebounded in the first period (24-14), the Herd maintained composure and went into the locker room down 46-37. Kelly had team highs of 11 points and seven rebounds at the break.
Marshall came as close as four points away (56-52) from reaching the 49ers, after back-to-back triples by Elmore around the 15:43 mark. Charlotte's dagger came in the form of an 8-2 run over 1:44, reaching a largest lead of 19 (81-62) with 7:25 left to play. Down the stretch, the Herd pushed back with some hot shooting, including two more consecutive triples by Elmore to make it 88-79 with 4:36 left. Marshall eventually came within six points with 24 seconds remaining, but Charlotte's advantage turned out to be too much to overcome, and the Herd fell by eight points, 103-95.
The Herd led the 49ers in points in the paint (43-40), points off turnovers (20-15), fast break points (15-4) and bench points (9-4). Charlotte had the edge in rebounding, 45-29, including 21 in a double-double effort from Joseph Uchebo (24 points). Andrien White was white-hot for the 49ers, recording 30 points (9-of-12) and making his first eight 3-point attempts (8-of-9).
"One of the processes of this program, I told [the team] in there, 'you know how to lose; you've been there," D'Antoni said. "'You've stayed tough, and you've come back from it.' Now we need to learn how to win. You can't get happy with winning."
MILESTONES
- School record: six consecutive 90-point conference games
- Jon Elmore: 27 points (career high)
THE LAST TIMEââ'¬Â¦
- The Herd scored 90 points or more in six or more consecutive games: seven games from Dec. 4 to Dec 20, 1971, under Carl Tacy (reached NCAA Tournament that season)
UP NEXT
Marshall will look for its first win at Ted Constant Convocation Center on Saturday at Old Dominion. The game against the Monarchs will be broadcast on American Sports Network. For the latest information about Marshall men's basketball, follow @HerdMBB on Twitter.
---HerdZone.com---
