The Herd played well in all phases of the game, shooting 50 percent from the field (25-of-50), out-rebounding Boston by eight (32-to-24) and held the Terriers to 38 percent from the field and 19 percent from the three-point line. Freshman phenom Tirrell Baines led the Herd with 16 points, while junior Markel Humphrey had 14 points and senior Mark Dorris had 11. For Dorris and Humphrey, that made the 12th game in a row, back to last season, they have scored in double-figures, a personal best for both players.
The Terriers, playing without leading scorer Corey Lowe, who did not make the trip due to personal reasons, saw the Herd jump to a 38-22 halftime lead by shooting 52 percent from the floor. The Herd blocked five shots in the first half, four by senior center Jean Francois Bro Grebe, and held Boston to just 2-for-10 shooting in the final nine minutes of the first quarter. The Herd, however, was down in rebounds, 12-to-11, and Jones challenged his team at halftime to hit the glass.
"We went in at half and told them we needed to go get the ball," said Jones. "It was a great team effort to out-round the opponent by 21-to-12 in the second half." All four of Baines' rebounds came in the second half, with three being offensive rebounds. In fact, Baines has 18 rebounds this season and 13 of those are on the offensive end. Second in rebounding was freshman guard Matt Walls, who grabbed six, four coming in the second half. Walls added seven points, while sophomore forward Tyler Wilkerson, making his second consecutive start, added six points to a game-best seven rebounds and one block. Marshall improved to 6-0 all-time against teams from the American East Conference.
Marshall played it's second game without point guard Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes, who was injured in the opening game with Pikeville. For the second game, Darryl Merthie and Taurean Marshall did a tandem at point, with the senior walk-on Marshall contributing five points, four assists, a game-best three steals and had no turnovers. "I didn't know if Taurean could help us when I came in," said Jones. "But he has played his way into the rotation. He makes the right pass, takes the good shot, pays attention in practice and takes notes in the film study. He does all the little things that add up to wins." Merthie, just cleared to play before the East Tennessee win, added nine points, five assists, one steal and just three turnovers in 32 minutes on the court.
Marshall moves on to Dayton, Ohio this Wednesday to play at Wright State at 7 p.m. MU beat the Raiders, 79-72 last year in the Henderson Center. The Herd returns home Saturday, Dec. 1, to play long-time rival Morehead State in an 8 p.m. game, due to the women's team having a doubleheader earlier in the day in the Fifth Third MU Classic, with the first game at 11 a.m. and the Herd's game at 1 p.m., against either Harvard or Pitt. It will be the 92nd meeting between the Herd and the Eagles of MSU, with Marshall holding a 48-43 all-time lead in the "I-64 Series." MU won last year's game, 81-80, at Ellis Johnson Arena, named for the former Morehead State and Marshall coach.