Marshall University Athletics
Friday, November 29
Gainesville, Fla.
9:00 p.m.
Marshall University
-24,00 CUSA
67
at
73
Florida
6-2,0-0SEC
1
2
F
Marshall
33
34
67
Florida
25
48
73
Photo by: Adam Gue
Men’s Basketball Falls Short in Loss at No. 24/25 Florida
11/30/2019 12:46:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Williams led all student-athletes with 17 points
Box Score
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Marshall men's basketball (2-4) gave the No. 24/25 Florida Gators all it could handle, but ultimately came up short in a 73-67 loss in Gainesville on Friday night at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Redshirt sophomore Iran Bennett poured 16 points into the basket on a 7-for-12 shooting night and was tied for the team-high in rebounds with six. The forward was also tasked with guarding Florida's scorer and rebounder Kerry Blackshear, Jr.
Bennett held Blackshear to just six attempts from the field, 10 points and five rebounds as the graduate student came into the contest averaging 13.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.
Redshirt junior Jannson Williams led all scorers in the game with 17, while finishing tied for second on the team with six rebounds. The forward also blocked four shots as he made four three-point shots in the game.
Sophomore Taevion Kinsey brought up a trio of Marshall student-athletes with 10 or more points, scoring 14 in the loss. Junior Jarrod West had game-high five assists and three steals.
Both teams started out cold from the field shooting a combined 1-for-15 from the field at the first media timeout with Florida leading 2-0. Marshall would get its first point off a Bennett free-throw out of the break.
After trailing by as many as five in the first 11 minutes of the game, the Herd went on an 8-0 run led by a Bennett layup, a free-throw and three-point basket from junior Darius George and it was finished off by a breakaway Kinsey slam off an assist from redshirt freshman Cam Brooks-Harris as Marshall jumped out to a four-point margin, 18-14, with just under eight minutes left in the half.
Freshman Marko Sarenac capped off the half with a three to give MU its largest lead of the opening half, eight, with the score 33-25 at the break. Marshall held Florida without a field goal in the final three minutes of the half.
The Gators came out hot in the second half, going on a 10-2 run to tie game, 35-35, at the first media timeout. Florida regained the lead with 13:33 left in the contest and eventually led by 13, 63-50, with just under six minutes remaining.
However, Marshall wasn't done battling yet. A layup from Bennett, a free-throw from Kinsey, a three made by sophomore Luke Thomas and a three-point play by Bennett concluded a 9-0 run and cut the deficit to two, 69-67, after the 9-0 run with 42 ticks on the clock.
The Herd's comeback came up short as Florida scored the final four points.
NOTES
Kinsey has now scored 10 or more points in the first six games of the season.
West's streak of five double-figure efforts to start the season came to end tonight as he had five points.
West passed C.J. Burks for sixth most steals in program history as he now has 155 in his career.
Thomas grabbed his first collegiate rebound in a career-high 14 minutes tonight.
Tonight was Marshall's first loss of the season while leading at halftime.
UP NEXT
Marshall returns to the Cam Henderson Center on Wednesday (Dec. 4) night to take on the Akron Zips. Opening tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.
For all the latest information about Marshall men's basketball, follow @HerdMBB on Twitter and Instagram.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS and Android.
---HerdZone.com---
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Marshall men's basketball (2-4) gave the No. 24/25 Florida Gators all it could handle, but ultimately came up short in a 73-67 loss in Gainesville on Friday night at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Redshirt sophomore Iran Bennett poured 16 points into the basket on a 7-for-12 shooting night and was tied for the team-high in rebounds with six. The forward was also tasked with guarding Florida's scorer and rebounder Kerry Blackshear, Jr.
Bennett held Blackshear to just six attempts from the field, 10 points and five rebounds as the graduate student came into the contest averaging 13.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.
Redshirt junior Jannson Williams led all scorers in the game with 17, while finishing tied for second on the team with six rebounds. The forward also blocked four shots as he made four three-point shots in the game.
Sophomore Taevion Kinsey brought up a trio of Marshall student-athletes with 10 or more points, scoring 14 in the loss. Junior Jarrod West had game-high five assists and three steals.
Both teams started out cold from the field shooting a combined 1-for-15 from the field at the first media timeout with Florida leading 2-0. Marshall would get its first point off a Bennett free-throw out of the break.
After trailing by as many as five in the first 11 minutes of the game, the Herd went on an 8-0 run led by a Bennett layup, a free-throw and three-point basket from junior Darius George and it was finished off by a breakaway Kinsey slam off an assist from redshirt freshman Cam Brooks-Harris as Marshall jumped out to a four-point margin, 18-14, with just under eight minutes left in the half.
Freshman Marko Sarenac capped off the half with a three to give MU its largest lead of the opening half, eight, with the score 33-25 at the break. Marshall held Florida without a field goal in the final three minutes of the half.
The Gators came out hot in the second half, going on a 10-2 run to tie game, 35-35, at the first media timeout. Florida regained the lead with 13:33 left in the contest and eventually led by 13, 63-50, with just under six minutes remaining.
However, Marshall wasn't done battling yet. A layup from Bennett, a free-throw from Kinsey, a three made by sophomore Luke Thomas and a three-point play by Bennett concluded a 9-0 run and cut the deficit to two, 69-67, after the 9-0 run with 42 ticks on the clock.
The Herd's comeback came up short as Florida scored the final four points.
NOTES
Kinsey has now scored 10 or more points in the first six games of the season.
West's streak of five double-figure efforts to start the season came to end tonight as he had five points.
West passed C.J. Burks for sixth most steals in program history as he now has 155 in his career.
Thomas grabbed his first collegiate rebound in a career-high 14 minutes tonight.
Tonight was Marshall's first loss of the season while leading at halftime.
UP NEXT
Marshall returns to the Cam Henderson Center on Wednesday (Dec. 4) night to take on the Akron Zips. Opening tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.
For all the latest information about Marshall men's basketball, follow @HerdMBB on Twitter and Instagram.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS and Android.
---HerdZone.com---
Team Stats
MARM
UF
FG%
.403
.448
3FG%
.280
.222
FT%
.625
.708
RB
31
43
TO
11
14
STL
10
7
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
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