Herd bullish on the boards in 63-44 win over Tulane
HUNTINGTON - With a four-game losing streak and a schedule that doesn't often let up, Marshall needed a suspense-free win Wednesday night against Tulane.
HUNTINGTON - With a four-game losing streak and a schedule that doesn't often let up, Marshall needed a suspense-free win Wednesday night against Tulane.
Mission accomplished, in a big way. The Thundering Herd ended its losing streak by flashing its mean streak, manhandling the Green Wave 63-44 before 5,590 at Cam Henderson Center.
Four Herd players scored in double figures, but Dennis Tinnon's 12 rebounds and Nigel Spikes' seven in 18 minutes were more telling. They led a brutalizing of the visitors on the boards - the Herd's 20 offensive rebounds nearly beat Tulane's total of 22. The total count was 45-22.
The Herd (14-8, 5-3) climbed into a fourth-place tie with Central Florida in the Conference USA standings by riding a 16-2 advantage in second-chance points. That helped MU allow a season-low 45 field goal attempts, which in turn led to a historic low in points yielded.
The 44 was the lowest allowed in a conference game since Jan. 28, 1950, when the Herd beat Tennessee Tech 88-43 in an Ohio Valley Conference bout.
"I'm really happy for my kids. Their attitude has been phenomenal in this stretch," said MU coach Tom Herrion. "Our practices Monday and Tuesday and our shootaround today were outstanding, reflective of the attitude of our kids, the leadership of our older guys.
"We kind of got back to our old fabric - defend and rebound."
DeAndre Kane grinded out 13 points and Damier Pitts had 10 points with eight assists. But Shaquille Johnson's 12 points in 19 minutes were more critical, as he hit three first-half 3-pointers to break the Herd out of an early funk.
The Herd fell behind 10-5 before Kane fed Tinnon for an easy basket. The game froze at 10-7 for a long time before Johnson's second 3-pointer tied the game at 10. By the time Johnson hit another 3 and sank all shots of a three-shot foul, the Herd was up 17-12.
That looked weak with 7:52 left, but the dominance was setting in. The Herd was in the middle of a 28-4 run over 13-plus minutes, including one segment in which it drew eight fouls in four minutes. Most of those could be linked to Tulane's rebounding woes.
"A lot of our fouls came on box-outs and things like that," said Tulane coach Ed Conroy. "And even when I talked to our guys about it, I think we kind of backed away from that part of the game a little bit.
"I would have definitely traded a few fouls on the box-out for losing the rebounding battle as badly as we did."
The Herd offense finally got uncorked after a 3-for-16 start. After Johnson's three free throws, Marshall needed just 5:18 to score its next 16 points, taking a 33-14 lead with 2:34 left in the first half.
"We're a transition team. We want to get out and run," Pitts said. "We've got to get stops, first. We can't get in transition if we're taking the ball out every time. We finally started getting stops, getting out in transition, bigs running the floor, finding my shooters in the wing and getting good shots, knocking them down."
Tulane chiseled the lead to 35-22 by halftime and Ricky Tarrant, the league's top candidate for rookie of the year, scored his first eight points to start the second half. Still, the Green Wave never got closer than 10 points as the Herd hit seven of its first 11.
All told, the Herd had 17 assists on its 23 baskets, its best such ratio since November.
"We're sharing the ball better; the ball's moving," Herrion said. "I thought we ran better offense. We were kind of patient in the second half, used some clock, which let us settle in the game.
"Anytime you hold a team in our league to 44 points, that's an outstanding effort and our kids deserve a lot of credit."
Tarrant and Jordan Callahan led the Green Wave with 11 points. Tarrant picked up two early fouls and suffered a scoreless first half, and Callahan scored eight of his points in the first 4:19, when Tulane enjoyed its brief lead.
BRIEFLY: Marshall also yielded just 44 points on Nov. 13, in a 58-44 win over Jacksonville State. ... With the game winding down, JP Kambola entered for the sixth time this season, but he failed to score his first points. He missed a dunk attempt and suffered a turnover in two touches. ... Marshall leads the series against Tulane 8-5, winning the last four.
This article is available only to our premium digital content subscribers.
Herd bullish on the boards in 63-44 win over Tulane
HUNTINGTON - With a four-game losing streak and a schedule that doesn't often let up, Marshall needed a suspense-free win Wednesday night against Tulane.
Mission accomplished, in a big way. The Thundering Herd ended its losing streak by flashing its mean streak, manhandling the Green Wave 63-44 before 5,590 at Cam Henderson Center.
Four Herd players scored in double figures, but Dennis Tinnon's 12 rebounds and Nigel Spikes' seven in 18 minutes were more telling. They led a brutalizing of the visitors on the boards - the Herd's 20 offensive rebounds nearly beat Tulane's total of 22. The total count was 45-22.
The Herd (14-8, 5-3) climbed into a fourth-place tie with Central Florida in the Conference USA standings by riding a 16-2 advantage in second-chance points. That helped MU allow a season-low 45 field goal attempts, which in turn led to a historic low in points yielded.
The 44 was the lowest allowed in a conference game since Jan. 28, 1950, when the Herd beat Tennessee Tech 88-43 in an Ohio Valley Conference bout.
"I'm really happy for my kids. Their attitude has been phenomenal in this stretch," said MU coach Tom Herrion. "Our practices Monday and Tuesday and our shootaround today were outstanding, reflective of the attitude of our kids, the leadership of our older guys.
"We kind of got back to our old fabric - defend and rebound."
DeAndre Kane grinded out 13 points and Damier Pitts had 10 points with eight assists. But Shaquille Johnson's 12 points in 19 minutes were more critical, as he hit three first-half 3-pointers to break the Herd out of an early funk.
The Herd fell behind 10-5 before Kane fed Tinnon for an easy basket. The game froze at 10-7 for a long time before Johnson's second 3-pointer tied the game at 10. By the time Johnson hit another 3 and sank all shots of a three-shot foul, the Herd was up 17-12.
That looked weak with 7:52 left, but the dominance was setting in. The Herd was in the middle of a 28-4 run over 13-plus minutes, including one segment in which it drew eight fouls in four minutes. Most of those could be linked to Tulane's rebounding woes.
"A lot of our fouls came on box-outs and things like that," said Tulane coach Ed Conroy. "And even when I talked to our guys about it, I think we kind of backed away from that part of the game a little bit.
"I would have definitely traded a few fouls on the box-out for losing the rebounding battle as badly as we did."
The Herd offense finally got uncorked after a 3-for-16 start. After Johnson's three free throws, Marshall needed just 5:18 to score its next 16 points, taking a 33-14 lead with 2:34 left in the first half.
"We're a transition team. We want to get out and run," Pitts said. "We've got to get stops, first. We can't get in transition if we're taking the ball out every time. We finally started getting stops, getting out in transition, bigs running the floor, finding my shooters in the wing and getting good shots, knocking them down."
Tulane chiseled the lead to 35-22 by halftime and Ricky Tarrant, the league's top candidate for rookie of the year, scored his first eight points to start the second half. Still, the Green Wave never got closer than 10 points as the Herd hit seven of its first 11.
All told, the Herd had 17 assists on its 23 baskets, its best such ratio since November.
"We're sharing the ball better; the ball's moving," Herrion said. "I thought we ran better offense. We were kind of patient in the second half, used some clock, which let us settle in the game.
"Anytime you hold a team in our league to 44 points, that's an outstanding effort and our kids deserve a lot of credit."
Tarrant and Jordan Callahan led the Green Wave with 11 points. Tarrant picked up two early fouls and suffered a scoreless first half, and Callahan scored eight of his points in the first 4:19, when Tulane enjoyed its brief lead.
BRIEFLY: Marshall also yielded just 44 points on Nov. 13, in a 58-44 win over Jacksonville State. ... With the game winding down, JP Kambola entered for the sixth time this season, but he failed to score his first points. He missed a dunk attempt and suffered a turnover in two touches. ... Marshall leads the series against Tulane 8-5, winning the last four.
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HUNTINGTON - With a four-game losing streak and a schedule that doesn't often let up, Marshall needed a suspense-free win Wednesday night against Tulane.
Mission accomplished, in a big way. The Thundering Herd ended its losing streak by flashing its mean streak, manhandling the Green Wave 63-44 before 5,590 at Cam Henderson Center.
Four Herd players scored in double figures, but Dennis Tinnon's 12 rebounds and Nigel Spikes' seven in 18 minutes were more telling. They led a brutalizing of the visitors on the boards - the Herd's 20 offensive rebounds nearly beat Tulane's total of 22. The total count was 45-22.
The Herd (14-8, 5-3) climbed into a fourth-place tie with Central Florida in the Conference USA standings by riding a 16-2 advantage in second-chance points. That helped MU allow a season-low 45 field goal attempts, which in turn led to a historic low in points yielded.
The 44 was the lowest allowed in a conference game since Jan. 28, 1950, when the Herd beat Tennessee Tech 88-43 in an Ohio Valley Conference bout.
"I'm really happy for my kids. Their attitude has been phenomenal in this stretch," said MU coach Tom Herrion. "Our practices Monday and Tuesday and our shootaround today were outstanding, reflective of the attitude of our kids, the leadership of our older guys.
"We kind of got back to our old fabric - defend and rebound."
DeAndre Kane grinded out 13 points and Damier Pitts had 10 points with eight assists. But Shaquille Johnson's 12 points in 19 minutes were more critical, as he hit three first-half 3-pointers to break the Herd out of an early funk.
The Herd fell behind 10-5 before Kane fed Tinnon for an easy basket. The game froze at 10-7 for a long time before Johnson's second 3-pointer tied the game at 10. By the time Johnson hit another 3 and sank all shots of a three-shot foul, the Herd was up 17-12.
That looked weak with 7:52 left, but the dominance was setting in. The Herd was in the middle of a 28-4 run over 13-plus minutes, including one segment in which it drew eight fouls in four minutes. Most of those could be linked to Tulane's rebounding woes.
"A lot of our fouls came on box-outs and things like that," said Tulane coach Ed Conroy. "And even when I talked to our guys about it, I think we kind of backed away from that part of the game a little bit.
"I would have definitely traded a few fouls on the box-out for losing the rebounding battle as badly as we did."
The Herd offense finally got uncorked after a 3-for-16 start. After Johnson's three free throws, Marshall needed just 5:18 to score its next 16 points, taking a 33-14 lead with 2:34 left in the first half.
"We're a transition team. We want to get out and run," Pitts said. "We've got to get stops, first. We can't get in transition if we're taking the ball out every time. We finally started getting stops, getting out in transition, bigs running the floor, finding my shooters in the wing and getting good shots, knocking them down."
Tulane chiseled the lead to 35-22 by halftime and Ricky Tarrant, the league's top candidate for rookie of the year, scored his first eight points to start the second half. Still, the Green Wave never got closer than 10 points as the Herd hit seven of its first 11.
All told, the Herd had 17 assists on its 23 baskets, its best such ratio since November.
"We're sharing the ball better; the ball's moving," Herrion said. "I thought we ran better offense. We were kind of patient in the second half, used some clock, which let us settle in the game.
"Anytime you hold a team in our league to 44 points, that's an outstanding effort and our kids deserve a lot of credit."
Tarrant and Jordan Callahan led the Green Wave with 11 points. Tarrant picked up two early fouls and suffered a scoreless first half, and Callahan scored eight of his points in the first 4:19, when Tulane enjoyed its brief lead.
BRIEFLY: Marshall also yielded just 44 points on Nov. 13, in a 58-44 win over Jacksonville State. ... With the game winding down, JP Kambola entered for the sixth time this season, but he failed to score his first points. He missed a dunk attempt and suffered a turnover in two touches. ... Marshall leads the series against Tulane 8-5, winning the last four.
This article is available only to our premium digital content subscribers.
Herd bullish on the boards in 63-44 win over Tulane
HUNTINGTON - With a four-game losing streak and a schedule that doesn't often let up, Marshall needed a suspense-free win Wednesday night against Tulane.
Mission accomplished, in a big way. The Thundering Herd ended its losing streak by flashing its mean streak, manhandling the Green Wave 63-44 before 5,590 at Cam Henderson Center.
Four Herd players scored in double figures, but Dennis Tinnon's 12 rebounds and Nigel Spikes' seven in 18 minutes were more telling. They led a brutalizing of the visitors on the boards - the Herd's 20 offensive rebounds nearly beat Tulane's total of 22. The total count was 45-22.
The Herd (14-8, 5-3) climbed into a fourth-place tie with Central Florida in the Conference USA standings by riding a 16-2 advantage in second-chance points. That helped MU allow a season-low 45 field goal attempts, which in turn led to a historic low in points yielded.
The 44 was the lowest allowed in a conference game since Jan. 28, 1950, when the Herd beat Tennessee Tech 88-43 in an Ohio Valley Conference bout.
"I'm really happy for my kids. Their attitude has been phenomenal in this stretch," said MU coach Tom Herrion. "Our practices Monday and Tuesday and our shootaround today were outstanding, reflective of the attitude of our kids, the leadership of our older guys.
"We kind of got back to our old fabric - defend and rebound."
DeAndre Kane grinded out 13 points and Damier Pitts had 10 points with eight assists. But Shaquille Johnson's 12 points in 19 minutes were more critical, as he hit three first-half 3-pointers to break the Herd out of an early funk.
The Herd fell behind 10-5 before Kane fed Tinnon for an easy basket. The game froze at 10-7 for a long time before Johnson's second 3-pointer tied the game at 10. By the time Johnson hit another 3 and sank all shots of a three-shot foul, the Herd was up 17-12.
That looked weak with 7:52 left, but the dominance was setting in. The Herd was in the middle of a 28-4 run over 13-plus minutes, including one segment in which it drew eight fouls in four minutes. Most of those could be linked to Tulane's rebounding woes.
"A lot of our fouls came on box-outs and things like that," said Tulane coach Ed Conroy. "And even when I talked to our guys about it, I think we kind of backed away from that part of the game a little bit.
"I would have definitely traded a few fouls on the box-out for losing the rebounding battle as badly as we did."
The Herd offense finally got uncorked after a 3-for-16 start. After Johnson's three free throws, Marshall needed just 5:18 to score its next 16 points, taking a 33-14 lead with 2:34 left in the first half.
"We're a transition team. We want to get out and run," Pitts said. "We've got to get stops, first. We can't get in transition if we're taking the ball out every time. We finally started getting stops, getting out in transition, bigs running the floor, finding my shooters in the wing and getting good shots, knocking them down."
Tulane chiseled the lead to 35-22 by halftime and Ricky Tarrant, the league's top candidate for rookie of the year, scored his first eight points to start the second half. Still, the Green Wave never got closer than 10 points as the Herd hit seven of its first 11.
All told, the Herd had 17 assists on its 23 baskets, its best such ratio since November.
"We're sharing the ball better; the ball's moving," Herrion said. "I thought we ran better offense. We were kind of patient in the second half, used some clock, which let us settle in the game.
"Anytime you hold a team in our league to 44 points, that's an outstanding effort and our kids deserve a lot of credit."
Tarrant and Jordan Callahan led the Green Wave with 11 points. Tarrant picked up two early fouls and suffered a scoreless first half, and Callahan scored eight of his points in the first 4:19, when Tulane enjoyed its brief lead.
BRIEFLY: Marshall also yielded just 44 points on Nov. 13, in a 58-44 win over Jacksonville State. ... With the game winding down, JP Kambola entered for the sixth time this season, but he failed to score his first points. He missed a dunk attempt and suffered a turnover in two touches. ... Marshall leads the series against Tulane 8-5, winning the last four.
