Saturday, January 7, 2012

Marshall Basketball: Herd beats Rice in dramatic finish, 63-61

It might not have been pretty but, Marshall defeated Rice 63-61 Saturday night for it's first road Conference USA win of the season.

With eleven seconds left on the clock and the score knotted at 61, MU point guard Damier Pitts committed a turn over, recovered by Rice's Arsalan Kazemi. With Rice in the double bonus Kazemi was immediately fouled and sent to the line for two shots. A career 67.3% free throw shooter Kazemi missed both attempts, his second shot recovered by Thundering Herd senior Shaquille Johnson. Johnson streaked down the court and made a layup with two seconds remaining, putting Marshall up 63-61. Rice threw up a desperation three point attempt as the clock expired but it was off target.

Marshall was lead by Pitt's 18 points, while Dennis Tinnon recorded his second double-double in a row, scoring ten points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard DeAndre Kane had a quite game in the points department (seven) but, he lead all players with six assist.

Marshall had a difficult time sticking with Rice defenders all night, allowing the Owls to shoot 45.1% from the field although, they only converted four of 17 three point attempts. Continuing it's season long dominance on the boards, MU out rebounded it's opponent 45-27.

The Thundering Herd (11-4, 2-0) returns to action at UAB (5-8, 0-0) this Wednesday, tip off is scheduled for 8pm ET.

Box Score, Marshall 63 - Rice 61.

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