Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Middle Tennessee
@HerdMBB Rallies, Falls at Middle Tennessee, 83-74
2/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Senior forward James Kelly (Ann Arbor, Mich.) tallied his 13th double-double in an 83-74 loss for Marshall men's basketball (15-14, 11-5) at Middle Tennessee (19-9, 11-5) on Saturday night at Murphy Center.
Marshall responded from a 16-point deficit in the second half to eventually take its first lead, but could not sustain it in the end. Kelly posted team highs of 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Thundering Herd, leading a trio of double-figure scorers. Sophomore guard Jon Elmore (Charleston, W.Va.) followed with 18 points and junior forward Ryan Taylor (Indianapolis) had 12.
"The problem is like when you run a mile, and you didn't run hard during the first part, and then you run really hard to catch up, and then you have nothing left for the end," coach Dan D'Antoni said. "They've got to understand you have to play all the way through the game, you can't just sit back like we did."
Middle Tennessee jumped out to a 5-0 run to start the game, and led by as many as seven during the first three minutes. Marshall climbed back to within two points of the Blue Raiders, down 14-12 at 14:40. However, MT used an 8-0 run to reach its first double digit lead at 13:21 (22-12). The Herd cut its deficit to five points, down 37-32 with 3:33 remaining in the half, but continual hot shooting from the Blue Raiders led to a 9-0 run over the final 2:13 of the period. MT took a 49-34 lead into the break. Kelly had a near double-double at halftime, leading the Herd with 10 points and eight rebounds. The Blue Raiders shot blistering percentages of 57.6 from the field (19-of-33) and 66.7 from long range (8-of-12).
The Blue Raiders pulled into their largest lead of 16 (56-40) at the 17:12 mark, after sinking their ninth 3-pointer. At that point, the Herd took off on a resounding 16-0 run that lasted for the next five minutes and 34 seconds, tying the game at 56 at the 12:24 mark. Eventually, Marshall overtook MT for its first lead of the game, 51-49, on a 3-pointer from Kelly with 8:17 remaining. Middle Tennessee kept the score close, and re-gained the lead after an 8-0 run to make it 69-63. Another 8-0 run put the Blue Raiders back into a double-figure lead, up 77-67 at the 2:17 mark. MT's advantage proved to be too much for the Herd to overcome in the final minutes, falling 83-74.
MILESTONES
School-record 290 season 3-pointers (previously 284 held by 1995-96 team coached by Billy Donovan)
James Kelly: 13th double-double
UP NEXT
Marshall will return home for its final regular-season games at Cam Henderson Center against Louisiana Tech (March 3) and Southern Miss (March 5). For the latest information about Marshall men's basketball, follow @HerdMBB on Twitter.
---HerdZone.com---
