Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
20-13,12-6Sun Belt
#4 Seed Arkansas State
23-9,13-5Sun Belt
Marshall Men’s Basketball Falls to Arkansas State, 77-74
3/8/2025 10:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Anochili-Killen finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds, 8 blocks in loss
Box Score | Coach Jackson Post-Game Presser
PENSACOLA, Fla. – Marshall Men's Basketball went back-and-forth with Arkansas State on Saturday evening, but the Thundering Herd fell to the Red Wolves, 77-74, in the 2025 SBC Quarterfinals at Pensacola Bay Center.
With the loss, Marshall dropped to 20-13 and will now await news on any potential postseason opportunities this weekend.
"Heck of a game," Marshall Men's Basketball coach Cornelius Jackson said. "But bigger than the game, I'm proud of these guys because they kept getting better each day. We focus on the day, right, and these guys stayed the course and stayed connected. Obviously, it's not the way we wanted to end it, but I'm proud of these guys."
Obinna Anochili-Killen finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks in the loss while Dezayne Mingo had 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Mikal Dawson also scored all 14 of his points in the second half as the Herd rallied back to tie the game late.
Marshall trailed by six with 3:31 left but rallied back as Anochili-Killen scored four straight before forcing a turnover that led to Mingo's layup to knot the game at 71-all with 2:20 remaining.
Mingo got the Herd within 75-74 with another layup with 27 seconds left, but the Herd could not find the equalizer.
Marshall trailed 39-36 at halftime, but Dawson got hot from the perimeter to forge the Herd ahead. His third 3-pointer in the first 5:30 of the second half gave the Herd a 52-46 lead.
Anochili-Killen came out on fire in the contest, scoring the Herd's first 11 points to get the team off to a solid start.
"As a player, you don't want to go home," Anochili-Killen said. "I just tried my best to help the team be able to be successful."
With his eight blocks on Saturday, the senior from Chapmanville, W.Va. took over the national lead in blocks and also became just the fourth Marshall player in history to record 100 blocks in a season, joining Hassan Whiteside (182, 2009-10), Ajdin Penava (134, 2017-18) and Omar Roland (101, 1989-90).
Anochili-Killen now sits at No. 3 in the single-season list with 102 after passing Roland on Saturday.
For all the latest information about Marshall Men's Basketball, follow @Herd_MBB on Twitter and @HerdMBB on Instagram.
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