Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
UAB
@HerdMBB Falls to UAB in Heartbreaking Fashion, 81-78
1/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery 
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Senior forward James Kelly (Ann Arbor, Mich.) posted his fourth game of 30 points or more as Marshall men's basketball fell to UAB, 81-78, at Cam Henderson Center on Saturday afternoon.
Kelly had 30 points and 10 rebounds, good for his league-leading 11th double-double of the year. The Thundering Herd fell to 11-11, 7-2 in Conference USA. UAB claimed the top spot in the league standings, improving to 18-4, 8-1. Five Blazers reached double-figure scoring, led by Dirk Williams' 16 points off the bench. Ryan Taylor (Indianapolis) was the Herd's only other double-figure scorer, with 19 points.
"I want to thank the town, state, and nearby areas for being here it was an atmosphere that I was used to playing here, it's a lot of fun," coach Dan D'Antoni said. "I think it was good our guys got a chance to get in there and experience this, I think this will make us a better team."
The Herd got off to slow start against the Blazers, with its first points coming off back-to-back threes from Stevie Browning (Logan, W.Va.) and Jon Elmore (Charleston, W.Va.), with 16:08 remaining in the first half. Going into the second media timeout, the Herd found itself in a stalemate, with both teams trading punch for punch as the game was tied 10-10, with 11:58 remaining in the half. Kelly found his rhythm and scored eight straight for the Herd, as his team trailed 23-18 with 7:22 remaining.
Justin Edmonds (Albion, Mich.) and Taylor brought the crowd to its feet by rattling off seven consecutive points to cut the Blazers' lead to just one point, 28-27, with 3:46 left. UAB stifled the Henderson Center with a 10-1 run, taking a 38-28 lead with 1:08 remaining in the first half. The Herd found itself in the trenches at halftime, trailing UAB 40-32.
As the second half got underway, the Herd once again got off to a sluggish start, connecting on only two of its first eight field goal attempts, down 49-39 with 15:28 left. At the final media timeout, the Herd showed signs of life as it cut the lead to four points, 75-71, with 3:46 remaining. With two minutes left the Herd trailed by five points, 79-74. With under a minute left Taylor drilled a 3-pointer to cut the UAB lead to one point, 79-78, sending the 7,085 fans in attendance into a frenzy. Marshall gained control with 7.8 seconds left on the clock, attempted to shoot for the win, but the ball went out of bounds and was deemed in the Blazers' possession after a review. UAB sunk two free throws to set the final score at 81-78.
UP NEXT
The Herd will return to Texas for a two-game road swing against UTEP (Feb. 4) and UTSA (Feb. 6). For the latest information about Marshall men's basketball, follow @HerdMBB on Twitter.
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