Marshall University Athletics
Thursday, December 29
Huntington, W.Va.
7:00 p.m.
Marshall University
12-2,1-0Sun Belt
79
vs
53
App State
7-7,0-1Sun Belt
1
2
F
App State
28
25
53
Marshall
35
44
79
Photo by: Adam Gue
Late First-Half Run Powers Herd Men to Inaugural SBC Win Over App State
12/29/2022 10:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball
12th win matches 2021-22 win total
Box Score | D'Antoni Press Conference
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall University men's basketball team (12-2, 1-0 Sun Belt) took its inaugural Sun Belt Conference contest, 79-53, over the App State Mountaineers (7-7, 0-1 Sun Belt) Thursday night in the Cam Henderson Center. 11 of MU's 12 wins have by 10 or more points.
"It was a great atmosphere," Herd head coach Dan D'Antoni said about the 4,816 fans that packed The Cam. "I love our fans. That's why I came back – our fan base. People are passionate about basketball here. I never undersell them. It was fun when I was here playing in front of them and it's fun now coaching and I think our players are enjoying it."
Redshirt senior Andrew Taylor fell an assist shy of a double-double as he tallied 15 points and a game-high nine assists while grabbing six boards. Junior Kamdyn Curfman also tallied 15 points as he made six of his 10 shots from the field, including three of his six three-point attempts.
In addition to scoring 14 points on a 7-for-13 shooting night, fifth-year senior Taevion Kinsey added seven assists to his stat line.
"Everybody made a difference tonight," Kinsey said. "I love my team. I cheered as hard as I could on the sideline. When I got my fourth foul, I was not worried at all. I felt like we were controlling the game the whole time."
Junior Obinna Anochili-Killen and freshman Jacob Conner rounded out five student-athletes in double-figure scoring with 11 and 10, respectively. Anochili-Killen also had seven rebounds.
Trailing by two with 4:18 left in the first half, sophomore Aymeric Toussaint completed an and-one opportunity. In what were his lone points of the contest, it gave the Herd a 26-25 lead.
Marshall ended the opening 20 minutes of action on a 12-3 run, capped off by a Curfman three, to take a 35-28 lead into halftime.
MU broke the game open with an 8-0 advantage to start the second half, including four points from Anochili-Killen, to go up by 15 points on the Mountaineers, 43-28.
"The first four minutes of each half is something we've tried to focus on recently – just coming out of the gate ready to go," Taylor said. "It's just all-around trust – not even just players, the coaches and everyone. It's coming out every day and following Coach Dan and his game plan and his offense, keeping an athletic ball and keep it moving fast. We've got a ton of scorers and we've got a ton of leapers."
A pair of three pointers made by Conner in the final two minutes gave the Herd a 27-point lead, 77-50, its largest of the contest.
Notes
App State's 53 points are fewest scored by any Marshall opponent this season.
The Herd's 23 assists marked the seventh time this season the team has had 20 or more in a game.
The Mountaineers came into the contest holding its opponents to an SBC-low 38.3 shooting percentage. However, Marshall made 52.4 percent of its shots from the field (33-for-63).
MU outrebounded App State 49-24 in the victory.
Both Kinsey and Taylor have scored 10 or more points in all 14 of the Herd's contests this season.
Curfman has tallied 10 or more points in eight of the last nine games.
Senior Goran Miladinovic snagged a season-high seven rebounds.
Conner tallied 10 or more points for the fifth time this season, and was the first time since he had 10 on December 3 against Ohio.
Marshall is 6-0 this season when it has five or more players score 10 or more points.
UP NEXT
The Herd closes out 2022 and the month of December on New Year's Eve (Saturday) at 2 p.m. in the Cam Henderson Center against James Madison.
For all the latest information about Marshall men's basketball, follow @Herd_MBB 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 or Android!
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall University men's basketball team (12-2, 1-0 Sun Belt) took its inaugural Sun Belt Conference contest, 79-53, over the App State Mountaineers (7-7, 0-1 Sun Belt) Thursday night in the Cam Henderson Center. 11 of MU's 12 wins have by 10 or more points.
"It was a great atmosphere," Herd head coach Dan D'Antoni said about the 4,816 fans that packed The Cam. "I love our fans. That's why I came back – our fan base. People are passionate about basketball here. I never undersell them. It was fun when I was here playing in front of them and it's fun now coaching and I think our players are enjoying it."
Redshirt senior Andrew Taylor fell an assist shy of a double-double as he tallied 15 points and a game-high nine assists while grabbing six boards. Junior Kamdyn Curfman also tallied 15 points as he made six of his 10 shots from the field, including three of his six three-point attempts.
In addition to scoring 14 points on a 7-for-13 shooting night, fifth-year senior Taevion Kinsey added seven assists to his stat line.
"Everybody made a difference tonight," Kinsey said. "I love my team. I cheered as hard as I could on the sideline. When I got my fourth foul, I was not worried at all. I felt like we were controlling the game the whole time."
Junior Obinna Anochili-Killen and freshman Jacob Conner rounded out five student-athletes in double-figure scoring with 11 and 10, respectively. Anochili-Killen also had seven rebounds.
Trailing by two with 4:18 left in the first half, sophomore Aymeric Toussaint completed an and-one opportunity. In what were his lone points of the contest, it gave the Herd a 26-25 lead.
Marshall ended the opening 20 minutes of action on a 12-3 run, capped off by a Curfman three, to take a 35-28 lead into halftime.
MU broke the game open with an 8-0 advantage to start the second half, including four points from Anochili-Killen, to go up by 15 points on the Mountaineers, 43-28.
"The first four minutes of each half is something we've tried to focus on recently – just coming out of the gate ready to go," Taylor said. "It's just all-around trust – not even just players, the coaches and everyone. It's coming out every day and following Coach Dan and his game plan and his offense, keeping an athletic ball and keep it moving fast. We've got a ton of scorers and we've got a ton of leapers."
A pair of three pointers made by Conner in the final two minutes gave the Herd a 27-point lead, 77-50, its largest of the contest.
Notes
App State's 53 points are fewest scored by any Marshall opponent this season.
The Herd's 23 assists marked the seventh time this season the team has had 20 or more in a game.
The Mountaineers came into the contest holding its opponents to an SBC-low 38.3 shooting percentage. However, Marshall made 52.4 percent of its shots from the field (33-for-63).
MU outrebounded App State 49-24 in the victory.
Both Kinsey and Taylor have scored 10 or more points in all 14 of the Herd's contests this season.
Curfman has tallied 10 or more points in eight of the last nine games.
Senior Goran Miladinovic snagged a season-high seven rebounds.
Conner tallied 10 or more points for the fifth time this season, and was the first time since he had 10 on December 3 against Ohio.
Marshall is 6-0 this season when it has five or more players score 10 or more points.
UP NEXT
The Herd closes out 2022 and the month of December on New Year's Eve (Saturday) at 2 p.m. in the Cam Henderson Center against James Madison.
For all the latest information about Marshall men's basketball, follow @Herd_MBB 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 or Android!
---HerdZone.com---
Team Stats
APP
Marsh
FG%
.340
.524
3FG%
.316
.412
FT%
.478
.667
RB
24
49
TO
9
13
STL
3
4
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
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