Nov. 21, 2008
MEN'S BASKETBALL: Herd Men Travel to Daytona Beach for Three Games at Glenn Wilkes Classic
Marshall Will Play First Non-Conference Games in Florida Since 1991
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Daytona Beach, FL (HNN) -- The Marshall University men's basketball team will participate in its first regular-season tournament in two years when it takes to the Ocean Center court for the second annual Glenn Wilkes Classic, beginning with Friday's matchup with Morgan State at 2 p.m. ET.
The Thundering Herd (1-0) will play three games in three days in Daytona Beach, Fla., in its first road trip of the season. Following Friday's tilt with Morgan State, the 2008 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular-season champions, Marshall will face Wis.-Green Bay on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Mississippi on Sunday at 4 p.m.
The Glenn Wilkes Classic will conclude a busy first stretch of the season for Marshall, which opened the 2008-09 campaign on Sunday with a 110-57 rout of WVU Tech. The game marked the first time Marshall eclipsed the 100-point plateau since a 101-100 overtime loss at Morehead State on Dec. 17, 2002. Coupled with Sunday's season-opener at the Cam Henderson Center, the Glenn Wilkes Classic forces the Herd to play four games in eight days to commence head coach Donnie Jones' second season at MU.
Jones, an assistant coach at Florida for 11 seasons prior to his accepting the head coach position at Marshall in April of 2007, will face a Southeastern Conference opponent for the first time since his days as a Gator.
Five Marshall players reached double digits in points in the opener and all 13 players on the roster sank at least one field goal. Freshman Shaquille Johnson (Jacksonville, Fla.) paced the Herd with 19 points in his collegiate debut, going 6-for-8 from the floor and 4-for-5 from 3-point range against the Golden Bears.
Johnson is one of four Herd players returning to their home state for the Glenn Wilkes Classic, joining fellow freshmen Dago Pena (Punta Gorda, Fla.) and Kore White (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) along with senior guard Darryl Merthie (Sanford, Fla.). Johnson is the reigning two-time Florida Class 5A Player of the Year and Pena, a 6-foot-6 guard/forward, was runner-up in the voting last season. In White's last game in the Sunshine State, he hoisted the Class 5A state title trophy as a prep star at Dillard High School.
Fifteen of Marshall's 31 regular-season games come against teams that qualified for postseason basketball in 2008. The Herd will face two such foes at the Glenn Wilkes Classic when it takes on National Invitation Tournament participants Morgan State and Mississippi. The Rebels advanced all the way to the NIT Final Four.
Morgan State (1-2), the MEAC preseason favorites, dropped a heartbreaking 61-60 decision at Manhattan on Wednesday. Reggie Holmes, MSU's leading scorer at 11.7 points per game, netted 12 points with a 4-for-7 mark from 3-point range in the loss to the Jaspers.
UW-Green Bay (0-1) will take on Rollins College on Friday in advance of its matchup with the Herd on Saturday. The Phoenix dropped its season-opener at Utah on Tuesday.
Ole Miss (2-0) will take on Utah on Friday at the Ocean Center and get a day off on Saturday prior to Sunday's game versus Marshall. The Rebels posted wins over Arkansas State and South Alabama earlier in the week.
Marshall's participation in the Glenn Wilkes Classic will mark its first non-conference games in the state of Florida since December of 1991 (Palm Beach Classic).
All three of Marshall's games in the Glenn Wilkes Classic can be heard live on the Thundering Herd/ISP Sports Network or via internet radio streaming on Herd All-Access (HerdZone.com). Vince Payne will call all the action with Woody Woodrum providing color analysis.
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MEN'S BASKETBALL: Herd Men Travel to Daytona Beach for Three Games at Glenn Wilkes Classic
Marshall Will Play First Non-Conference Games in Florida Since 1991
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Daytona Beach, FL (HNN) -- The Marshall University men's basketball team will participate in its first regular-season tournament in two years when it takes to the Ocean Center court for the second annual Glenn Wilkes Classic, beginning with Friday's matchup with Morgan State at 2 p.m. ET.
The Thundering Herd (1-0) will play three games in three days in Daytona Beach, Fla., in its first road trip of the season. Following Friday's tilt with Morgan State, the 2008 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular-season champions, Marshall will face Wis.-Green Bay on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Mississippi on Sunday at 4 p.m.
The Glenn Wilkes Classic will conclude a busy first stretch of the season for Marshall, which opened the 2008-09 campaign on Sunday with a 110-57 rout of WVU Tech. The game marked the first time Marshall eclipsed the 100-point plateau since a 101-100 overtime loss at Morehead State on Dec. 17, 2002. Coupled with Sunday's season-opener at the Cam Henderson Center, the Glenn Wilkes Classic forces the Herd to play four games in eight days to commence head coach Donnie Jones' second season at MU.
Jones, an assistant coach at Florida for 11 seasons prior to his accepting the head coach position at Marshall in April of 2007, will face a Southeastern Conference opponent for the first time since his days as a Gator.
Five Marshall players reached double digits in points in the opener and all 13 players on the roster sank at least one field goal. Freshman Shaquille Johnson (Jacksonville, Fla.) paced the Herd with 19 points in his collegiate debut, going 6-for-8 from the floor and 4-for-5 from 3-point range against the Golden Bears.
Johnson is one of four Herd players returning to their home state for the Glenn Wilkes Classic, joining fellow freshmen Dago Pena (Punta Gorda, Fla.) and Kore White (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) along with senior guard Darryl Merthie (Sanford, Fla.). Johnson is the reigning two-time Florida Class 5A Player of the Year and Pena, a 6-foot-6 guard/forward, was runner-up in the voting last season. In White's last game in the Sunshine State, he hoisted the Class 5A state title trophy as a prep star at Dillard High School.
Fifteen of Marshall's 31 regular-season games come against teams that qualified for postseason basketball in 2008. The Herd will face two such foes at the Glenn Wilkes Classic when it takes on National Invitation Tournament participants Morgan State and Mississippi. The Rebels advanced all the way to the NIT Final Four.
Morgan State (1-2), the MEAC preseason favorites, dropped a heartbreaking 61-60 decision at Manhattan on Wednesday. Reggie Holmes, MSU's leading scorer at 11.7 points per game, netted 12 points with a 4-for-7 mark from 3-point range in the loss to the Jaspers.
UW-Green Bay (0-1) will take on Rollins College on Friday in advance of its matchup with the Herd on Saturday. The Phoenix dropped its season-opener at Utah on Tuesday.
Ole Miss (2-0) will take on Utah on Friday at the Ocean Center and get a day off on Saturday prior to Sunday's game versus Marshall. The Rebels posted wins over Arkansas State and South Alabama earlier in the week.
Marshall's participation in the Glenn Wilkes Classic will mark its first non-conference games in the state of Florida since December of 1991 (Palm Beach Classic).
All three of Marshall's games in the Glenn Wilkes Classic can be heard live on the Thundering Herd/ISP Sports Network or via internet radio streaming on Herd All-Access (HerdZone.com). Vince Payne will call all the action with Woody Woodrum providing color analysis.
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