Marshall University Athletics
Wednesday, January 22
Huntington, W.Va.
7:00 p.m.
Marshall University
-911, 34 CUSA
60
vs
64
WKU
-136, 61 CUSA
1
2
F
WKU
25
39
64
MARSHALL
39
21
60
Photo by: Rick Haye
Men's Basketball Falls at Home After Second-Half Comeback by WKU
1/22/2020 11:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bennett scored team-leading 14 points in loss
Box Score | D'Antoni Press Conference | Quotes
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall men's basketball (9-11, 3-4 C-USA) led by as many as 21 points in the first half, but fell at the hands of the Western Kentucky (13-6, 6-1 C-USA), 64-60, as the Hilltoppers made a second-half comeback at the Cam Henderson Center.
"I think you saw us at our best and our worst tonight," Marshall head coach Dan D'Antoni said after the loss. "It was a tale of two halves. We turned the ball over 21 times, they (WKU) scored 18 points (off turnovers). You can't do that. We'll get back and ready for Saturday. It's going to be an up and down season. I don't know how you lose games like that, but we just have to keep aging (Herd's young players) that way we overcome that."
Marshall had a trio of student-athletes in double-figure scoring with 10 or more points led by redshirt sophomore Iran Bennett with 14 points. The forward made five of his nine attempts from the field and four of his six free-throw attempts as he rejected five shots.
Freshman Marko Sarenac and junior Jarrod West each had 10 points in the loss. West tied Bennett for the team-high in steals with two as Sarenac brought down five rebounds.
The Herd jumped out to the early lead as it opened the game on a 7-0 run with five points from Sarenac and a layup by redshirt freshman Andrew Taylor, who grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
This start propelled Marshall to lead for the duration of the first half and was eventually extended to as high as 19, 37-18, with 1:17 left in the opening half. However, WKU scored seven of the last points in the half as Marshall still led 39-25 at the break.
The Hilltoppers hot streak continued into the second half they started it on a 9-0 run, its first of three runs in the half of eight or points. As WKU chipped away at the Herd's lead, its final 9-0 run of the half gave WKU its first lead with 5:08 and led by four 62-58 with 3:43 left in the game. Marshall scored 21 points in the final stanza and only two in final 8:34 of the contest
NOTES
Bennett blocked five shots for the first time since beating Duquesne on Dec. 29, 2019.
Kinsey's eight points marks just the second time this season he hasn't reached 10 points and it ended a 10-game streak of 10 or more points.
Sarenac reached double-figure scoring for the second time this season.
The Herd is 6-6 at home this season, with a 2-3 home record in C-USA games this season.
Tonight was only Marshall's third loss when leading at halftime this season and it is now 2-3 in games decided by five or fewer points.
The Herd has lost five of the seven this season when it has scored 60-69 points this season.
UP NEXT
Marshall looks to get back in the win column when it travels to Bowling Green for a rematch with WKU on Saturday.
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---
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall men's basketball (9-11, 3-4 C-USA) led by as many as 21 points in the first half, but fell at the hands of the Western Kentucky (13-6, 6-1 C-USA), 64-60, as the Hilltoppers made a second-half comeback at the Cam Henderson Center.
"I think you saw us at our best and our worst tonight," Marshall head coach Dan D'Antoni said after the loss. "It was a tale of two halves. We turned the ball over 21 times, they (WKU) scored 18 points (off turnovers). You can't do that. We'll get back and ready for Saturday. It's going to be an up and down season. I don't know how you lose games like that, but we just have to keep aging (Herd's young players) that way we overcome that."
Marshall had a trio of student-athletes in double-figure scoring with 10 or more points led by redshirt sophomore Iran Bennett with 14 points. The forward made five of his nine attempts from the field and four of his six free-throw attempts as he rejected five shots.
Freshman Marko Sarenac and junior Jarrod West each had 10 points in the loss. West tied Bennett for the team-high in steals with two as Sarenac brought down five rebounds.
The Herd jumped out to the early lead as it opened the game on a 7-0 run with five points from Sarenac and a layup by redshirt freshman Andrew Taylor, who grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
This start propelled Marshall to lead for the duration of the first half and was eventually extended to as high as 19, 37-18, with 1:17 left in the opening half. However, WKU scored seven of the last points in the half as Marshall still led 39-25 at the break.
The Hilltoppers hot streak continued into the second half they started it on a 9-0 run, its first of three runs in the half of eight or points. As WKU chipped away at the Herd's lead, its final 9-0 run of the half gave WKU its first lead with 5:08 and led by four 62-58 with 3:43 left in the game. Marshall scored 21 points in the final stanza and only two in final 8:34 of the contest
NOTES
Bennett blocked five shots for the first time since beating Duquesne on Dec. 29, 2019.
Kinsey's eight points marks just the second time this season he hasn't reached 10 points and it ended a 10-game streak of 10 or more points.
Sarenac reached double-figure scoring for the second time this season.
The Herd is 6-6 at home this season, with a 2-3 home record in C-USA games this season.
Tonight was only Marshall's third loss when leading at halftime this season and it is now 2-3 in games decided by five or fewer points.
The Herd has lost five of the seven this season when it has scored 60-69 points this season.
UP NEXT
Marshall looks to get back in the win column when it travels to Bowling Green for a rematch with WKU on Saturday.
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
WKU
MARM
FG%
.400
.453
3FG%
.381
.316
FT%
.800
.750
RB
29
35
TO
14
21
STL
12
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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