Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
-916,210 CUSA
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UTEP
-1410,75 CUSA
Marshall Men’s Basketball Rallies for Victory in El Paso
2/13/2022 6:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Miladinovic records first double-double
Box Score | D'Antoni Press Conference
EL PASO, Texas – After trailing by eight points in the first half, the Marshall University men's basketball team (9-16, 2-10 C-USA) took down the UTEP Miners (14-10, 7-5 C-USA), 88-79, in El Paso, Texas, on Sunday afternoon.
"They played much harder," Herd men's basketball head coach Dan D'Antoni said of his team's effort after the win. "They responded to our prayer meetings and that's good. They responded together. There's no quit in this team."
Sophomore Goran Miladinovic tallied a career-high 17 points and 11 rebounds for the first double-double of his career. The center made seven of his 10 attempts from the field in a career-high 31 minutes.
Senior Mikel Beyers and redshirt sophomore Andrew Taylor followed with 13 points each. Taylor dished out six assists as Beyers snagged six boards.
Sophomore Marko Sarenac and freshman Obinna Anochili-Killen each had 12 points. Sarenac made four of his five three-point attempts. Junior Taevion Kinsey had a season-high 11 assists in the victory.
UTEP's Souly Boum scored a game-high 31 points and went 13-for-14 from the free-throw line.
Miladinovic gave the Herd an early 4-0 lead as he put the first four points on the scoreboard with a jumper and a layup.
Senior Darius George entered the game with 17:26 on the clock marking his 135th career game in the Green and White. He passed Shaquille Johnson (2008-12) for the most games played in Marshall men's basketball history.
However, a 13-3 Miner run put Marshall down 13-7 at the 13:57 mark.
The Herd would tie the contest on a Miladinovic triple with just under 10 minutes left in the first half. UTEP answered with an 8-0 run to go up 30-22 four minutes later.
Marshall persistently cut into the deficit the rest of the way as it scored 11 of the final 13 points in the opening stanza. A pair of made free throws by Beyers gave the Herd a 39-38 advantage at halftime.
MU started the second half on a 6-0 run with layups by Kinsey, Miladinovic and Taylor to take a 45-38 lead. UTEP would rally back to tie the contest three times, but an 8-0 streak on threes by George and Taylor with a pair of freebies made by Kinsey, saw Marshall lead 61-53 with 12:15 to go.
A 6-0 run gave the Herd a 12-point advantage, 84-72, and sealed the game for the visitors.
NOTES
The Herd made 56 percent of its shots from the field (31-for-55), including 50 percent from three-point range (11-for-22).
MU won the battle on the glass 36-27 and 36-24 on points in the paint.
The Herd made a three in its 995th consecutive game, with the last contest without a triple occurring on Feb. 27, 1989, in a win over App State.
Kinsey scored seven points in the win, breaking a streak of 56 consecutive games with 10 or points. His last game not in double-figure came on Jan. 21, 2019, at Western Kentucky when he had three points.
Sarenac tied his season-high five rebounds in the win.
Beyers grabbed a season-high six boards for the third time this season.
Anochili-Killen has scored 10 or more points in four of his last five contests.
UP NEXT
Marshall returns to the Henderson Center on Thursday to host Old Dominion at 7 p.m.
For all the latest information about Marshall men's basketball, follow @HerdMBB on Twitter and Instagram.
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---HerdZone.com---
