Jan. 16, 2008

Box Score

Marshall at East Carolina Game Book

GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina's 12-0 run with seven minutes remaining propelled the Pirates to a 75-62 win over visiting Marshall in Conference USA men's basketball action at Minges Coliseum on Wednesday night.

Marshall (9-6, 1-2 C-USA) led 56-51 before East Carolina (7-8, 1-1) went on the back-breaking run that saw the Thundering Herd go scoreless for nearly six minutes en route to snapping a two-game losing streak to MU.

The Pirate run included a James Legan game-tying 3-pointer, a go-ahead layup by Darrell Jenkins and a Sam Hinnant trey with 4:52 remaining. MU found itself down 63-56 before a Darryl Merthie (Lake Mary, Fla.) free throw finally ended the Pirate scoring barrage with 2:57 on the clock.

The Herd was held scoreless for nearly six minutes during ECU's surge and scored only six points after a Mark Dorris (Cincinnati, Ohio) 3-pointer gave MU its five-point advantage at 8:42.

Merthie got to the free-throw line six times in the game's final three minutes and pulled the Herd to within four points with two-and-a-half minutes to go. A charity stripe contest ensued between Merthie and ECU's Brock Young down the stretch, but Marshall turnovers and lack of field goals allowed the Pirates to pull away.

"It's tough to win a game when you go 14-of-23 from the free-throw line and turn the ball over 19 times, especially on the road," first-year Marshall coach Donnie Jones said.

"It was a game of runs and we had a chance," Jones said. "They got up early, then we battled back but they made plays to win. Hinnant made some big shots like we knew he was capable of."

Marshall led by eight points, 48-40 at 15:17 of the second half, before Hinnant converted a four-point play to spark the Pirates.

Merthie attempted a career-high 12 free throws (9-for-12) and led the Herd in scoring with 16 points, followed by 15 points from Dorris. As a team, however, Marshall went just 14-of-23 (60.9 percent) from the free-throw line. Marshall matched its season-worst with 19 turnovers from which East Carolina converted into 21 points.

Hinnant scored a game-high 24 points for ECU thanks in part to a career high-tying six 3-pointers (6-for-10). Darrell Jenkins, third in the nation in assists, scored 14 points with six helpers while Young netted a career-high 12 points.

East Carolina went 22-for-29 (75.9 percent) from the free-throw line.

Marshall opened the second half with an 11-5 run, starting with a Matt Walls (Georgetown, Ky.) trey a minute into the stanza. Robbie Jackson (Aberdeen, Md.) got into the mix, tipping in Dorris miss during the Herd's charge out of the locker room.

ECU regrouped under new head coach Mack McCarthy and quickly tied then took to the lead with its run of points.

Marshall led by two points, 37-35, at halftime after shooting 56.5 percent in the opening 20 minutes.

After Baines tied the score at five apiece with a two-handed putback slam off a Merthie miss, the Pirates held the Herd scoreless for four minutes while building a 12-5 lead. Walls beat the shot clock with a 3-pointer off the glass to get MU to within four points, 18-14, at the nine-minute mark.

Legan hit the first of his two first-half 3-pointers that pushed ECU ahead by seven points. Marshall weathered the ECU storm as Dorris answered with a trey of his own, followed by a Merthie layup that knotted the game at 24-24 at 5:58.

Merthie scored all 10 of his first-half points in the final 7:30, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 4:43 remaining. Pierre Marie Altidor Cespedes (Montreal, Quebec) nailed a 3-pointer with 1:23 on the clock that again tied the game. A Merthie runner in the lane was goaltended with seven seconds left, giving MU a 37-35 halftime advantage.

Junior Markel Humphrey (Atlanta, Ga.), the C-USA leader in minutes per game, played only 29 minutes as he continues to battle a foot injury. He scored nine points with seven rebounds and two blocks, but committed six turnovers.

"Our team is struggling with the loss of Markel," Jones said. "He has been limited in practice and limited on the floor tonight. I probably played him too long; it was a frustrating night for him."

Marshall, after dropping two straight and its posting its first C-USA road loss, will return home for a Saturday night tilt with UAB at the Cam Henderson Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.