Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
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Jackson State
0-4,0-0SWAC
Men’s Basketball’s Second-Half Surge Propels Herd Past Tigers
11/21/2021 7:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Anochili-Killen, Taylor record double-doubles
Box Score | D'Antoni Press Conference | Quotes
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – With double-doubles by sophomore Obinna Anochili-Killen and redshirt junior Andrew Taylor to power a second-half surge, the Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball team (3-1) defeated the Jackson State Tigers (0-4), 80-66, on Sunday night at the Cam Henderson Center.
"Jackson (State) doesn't look like an 0-4 team," Marshall men's basketball head coach Dan D'Antoni said after the win. "They have guys who are very strong and athletic. It was a good win for us. I think we'll get better contributions as we go on with different players."
Anochili-Killen tallied 15 points, rejected a career-high 10 shots and fell one rebound shy of a triple-double with nine. Redshirt junior Taylor also recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds while adding a game-high eight assists.
Senior Taevion Kinsey scored a game-high 24 points with five boards in the victory.
With 18 points, senior Darius George also fell a rebound shy of a double-double with a career-high nine rebounds.
Jayveous McKinnis had a game-high 12 rebounds and 10 points as he recorded a double-double for the Tigers.
JSU nearly led for the majority of the first 11 minutes of the contest before Kinsey, Anochili-Killen and George combined for a 9-5 run from 9:37 to 5:19 to take a 27-24 lead.
A 6-0 run with jumpers by Kinsey, George and Anochili-Killen gave MU its largest lead of the half at seven points, 36-29, with 1:35 left in the opening stanza.
However, JSU answered with a 6-0 run in the final 35 seconds, capped off by a desperation heave by Dyllan Taylor, to cut Marshall's lead to one, 38-37, at the break.
The Green and White came out red hot in the second half, scoring 14 of the first 18 points to kick its lead to double figures, 52-41, at the 14:05 mark.
Despite the run, the Tigers remained persistent and answered with a 9-0 run on five points from Gabe Watson, who had a team-high 18 for JSU, to cut the MU lead to 57-55 with 10:36 remaining.
But the Herd iced the game with 16-2 run, which saw six points by Kinsey, four from Taylor, four by George and two by Anochili-Killen to jump out to an 80-63 lead with two minutes left.
The Tigers scored the final four points of the game as the Herd cruised to the victory.
NOTES
Kinsey reached double-figure scoring for the 38th consecutive game and has scored 20 or more points in three of the first four games this season. The Columbus, Ohio, native now has 24 games of 20 or more points in his career.
Marshall won the battle on the glass, outrebounding Jackson State 45-38. MU has won the rebounding in all four games this season.
Anochili-Killen's 10 blocks are tied for third-most in the Herd's single-game records. He is one of two players to have 10 or more blocks, joining Hassan Whiteside, who did it three times.
The Herd outscored the Tigers 40-20 in the paint.
UP NEXT
MU closes out a five-game home stand on Tuesday against Louisiana at 7 p.m.
For all the latest information about Marshall men's basketball, follow @HerdMBB on Twitter and Instagram.
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