Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Louisiana Tech
Half-Court Buzzer-Beater Sinks @HerdMBB, 97-94
3/3/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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| Postgame Press Conference
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. ââ'¬" Sophomore point guard Jon Elmore (Charleston, W.Va.) posted his second double-double as Marshall men's basketball (15-15, 11-6) fell prey to Derric Jean's half-court buzzer-beater for Louisiana Tech (23-7, 12-5), which lifted the Bulldogs to a 97-94 win at Cam Henderson Center on Thursday night.
Elmore had 18 points and matched a career-high 10 assists. Senior James Kelly (Ann Arbor, Mich.) led the Herd in scoring with 27 points, turning in his 15th game of 20 points or more. He reached the top 10 for points in a single Marshall season, at 615 for the year. He needs five rebounds to become the second player in Herd history to record 600 points and 300 boards in a season. Junior Stevie Browning (Logan, W.Va.) had 16 points, and C.J. Burks (Martinsburg, W.Va.) had 12 points off the bench to round out double-figure scoring for Marshall.
The Herd started the game quickly, hitting its first five shots of the contest and jumping out to an early 11-6 lead at the first media timeout. Louisiana Tech responded by going on a 15-3 run to take a 21-14 with 12:35 left in the first half. Marshall cut the Louisiana Tech lead to 23-22 at the 10:48 mark of the half. Following an Alex Hamilton layup for the Bulldogs, the Herd went on a 9-0 run highlighted by a pair of Elmore layups. Louisiana Tech cut the Herd lead to 31-29 before a pair of corner 3-pointers from Elmore and Austin Loop (South Webster, Ohio) and a reverse alley-oop to Kelly increased the Marshall lead to its largest of the half at 39-29 with 3:33 left before the break. Hamilton brought the Bulldogs back to within four by scoring eight of the next ten points. Kelly and Hamilton exchanged layups before Elmore banked in a shot just before the buzzer to give the Herd a 45-39 lead at the half.
Louisiana Tech started the second half scoring seven of the first ten points to cut the Herd lead to 48-46. After Browning made a layup at the 17:21 mark, the Bulldogs went on an 11-2 run to take a 57-52 lead, highlighted by three Erik McCree 3-pointers. The Herd responded with an 11-1 run with Elmore scoring five of the 11 points to take a 63-58 lead with 13:19 left. Another pair of Alex Hamilton free throws cut the Herd lead to 63-60 before Loop drained another 3-pointer. The teams remained within six points of each other for the remainder of the game.
Derric Jean made a 3-pointer and Dayon Griffin's dunk tied the game at 87-87 just before the final media timeout. The Herd scored six of the next eight points to take a 93-89 lead before a 3-pointer and a layup by Hamilton gave the Bulldogs a one-point lead with 29 seconds left. Kelly converted one-of-two free throws to tie the game at 94 with 3.3 seconds remaining before Jean's half-court heave fell for the Bulldogs to give Louisiana Tech the win.
The Herd out-shot the Bulldogs, 53.0 percent (35-of-66) to 50.0 percent (32-of-64), and rebounds were tied at 34 apiece. Marshall had the edge in points in the paint, 46-36.
Marshall remains winless in the all-time series with LA Tech, at 0-5.
UP NEXT
Marshall will close the regular season with Senior Night for Justin Edmonds (Albion, Mich.) and James Kelly (Ann Arbor, Mich.) on Saturday against Southern Miss at 7 p.m. ET at Cam Henderson Center. For the latest information about Marshall men's basketball, follow @HerdMBB on Twitter.
---HerdZone.com---
