From
the Marshall University Sports Information office.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – With an opportunity to
start off fresh with Conference USA play beginning, the Marshall men’s
basketball team came up short and fell, 90-81, at conference newcomer UTSA on
Thursday night at the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunners improved
to 5-9 overall and 1-0 in C-USA play, while the Thundering Herd dropped to 6-10
on the year and 0-1 in league play. In a game that was back and forth from the
start, when the final buzzer sounded there had been 13 ties and 16 lead changes
in 40 minutes of play.
Marshall coach Tom Herrion started the same
five as in the last five games; Kareem Canty (Harlem, N.Y.), Chris Thomas
(Denver), DeVince Boykins (Forest City, N.C.), TyQuane Goard (Charleston,
W.Va.) and Ryan Taylor (Indianapolis, Ind.). Marshall is now 2-4 in the six
games with that starting lineup.
Taylor took over early as he had eight
points with 10:44 until the half with UTSA holding serve, 19-16.
Smith entered off the bench
and made an immediate impact as
At the half, the Herd found itself in a
slim one-point deficit, 41-40. Canty’s nine points led Marshall through the
first 20 minutes, to go along with eight each from Taylor and Thomas. The
Herd’s full court press defense was successful in impacting the Roadrunner
offensive flow by forcing nine first-half turnovers.
To open the second half, Canty scored the
first seven Marshall points to keep the Herd within striking distance of UTSA.
With 4:02 remaining in the
contest, the Roadrunners went up 79-67 on a three-point play for their largest
lead of the game. The Herd would battle to bring the score within single
digits, 87-79, with 1:03 remaining, but would get no closer. As the clock ran
out, UTSA secured a 90-81 victory in its inaugural C-USA contest.
Marshall struggled to make a game of it
late as Taylor, Goard and Thomas each fouled out of the contest in the waning
minutes.
Off the bench, junior forward Shawn Smith
(Sacramento, Calif.) made an impact with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting in his emerging role
as the Herd’s sixth man. Finishing as the game’s leading scorer, Canty scored
26 for Marshall in a losing effort.
Thomas
rounded out the trio of double-digit Herd scorers with 11 points. Marshall has
now had three or more of its own score in double figures in all, but one
contest this season.
Marshall will conclude its two-game Texas
trip against UTEP, Saturday, Jan. 11 at 9:05 p.m. ET.
In-game Twitter updates @HerdMBB, results and a recap from the night’s
action will be available at HerdZone.com.
---HerdZone.com---
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