Marshall's Men Take Down Memphis, 85-70

“Clearly it was a tremendous victory. I can’t tell you how proud, or whatever adjective you are supposed to give about your kids,” head coach Tom Herrion said.  “These kids haven’t backed off what we have been trying to do. They dust themselves off. They turn the page quick and I am proud of them.”

“We have showed so much character these last couple of weeks. It excites me about the future of our basketball program. Tonight was a tremendous victory for us.”

The lead changed hands twice early on, but with Memphis up 12-11 with 12:25 remaining in the opening period, the Herd took the lead for good, going on a 26-8 run over the next ten minutes to take a 17-point, 37-20 advantage.  The Herd connected on 9-of-15 shots over that span.

Marshall would find itself up 12, 39-27, at the half and just over six minutes into the second stanza, a Dago Pena three reestablished the Herd’s 17-point advantage.

With Marshall up 57-41 with 11:27 remaining, Memphis showed some fight, cutting the Herd’s lead to just five points, 62-57, with 7:19 left in the game.  Marshall, looking to avoid losing a double-digit second-half lead for the third-consecutive game, rose to the occasion, going on a 9-1 run, which was helped by four and-ones on four straight trips down the floor.

The Herd kept the pressure on, seeing its lead grow to as many as 20 points in the final minute before finishing with the 85-70 win.

Tirrell Baines and Damier Pitts recorded 17 points apiece for MU.  Baines also led all players with eight boards.  Shaquille Johnson scored ten points in 33 minutes of play.

Tarik Black notched 14 points for the Tigers while Joe Jackson finished with 12.

Marshall outrebounded Memphis by a 38-34 margin and also finished with a 46.6%-42.4% shooting advantage.

Marshall will look to keep the momentum going as it travels to Houston to face the Cougars.  The game is set for 9 p.m. ET and will be televised by CBS College Sports.