— By Bill Cornwell
Marshall hopes to build momentum with one week remaining in the regular season.
To do so, the Herd will to try make it two wins in as many road games this week come 1 p.m. Saturday in a matchup at Appalachian State. The game at the Holmes Convocation Center can be seen on ESPN+.
Marshall (16-10, 9-6) brought an end to a two-game skid Thursday night when it held off a late charge from Old Dominion for an 81-77 victory.
In the Herd’s 16th win this season, Obinna Anochili-Killen had 24 points and four blocks to lead the way. The Herd had an 18-point second half lead at one point, but the Monarchs cut the lead to three in the final minute.
Marshall was then able to hit late free throws to put the game away.
“Winning is hard,” first-year MU head coach Cornelius Jackson said. “We have another tough opponent in App State. They’re playing real well and they have some talented guards and bigs inside.”
The challenge only increases Saturday against the Mountaineers (17-10, 10-5).
Marshall is in sole possession of sixth place in the Sun Belt Conference standings, one game behind the Mountaineers, Arkansas State and Troy. South Alabama and James Madison are tied for first in the league at 11-4 each.
Appalachian State enters off a 79-74 overtime win over Georgia Southern. CJ Huntley and Myles Tate combined to score 51 points in the win, which featured an 8-0 spurt to start overtime that allowed for separation against the Eagles.
Dustin Kerns is in his sixth season at Appalachian State and has a 114-75 record during his tenure.
Tate and Huntley are the team’s only double-figure scorers, but both can fill it up in a hurry. Tate, a redshirt senior guard, averages 16.8 points, while Huntley, a graduate forward, averages 15.1 points.
Huntley also snags a team-best 7.7 rebounds on average.
Another Mountaineer that Marshall must be well aware of is junior guard Dior Conners, who is a major threat on the perimeter and has made 56-of-138 three-point attempts. Tate, with 59 triples, leads the squad in that category.
Anochili-Killen leads Marshall in scoring at 14.2 points, followed by a trio of guards in Mikal Dawson (13.), Dezayne Mingo (11.6) and Jalen Speer (10.7).
Nate Martin continues his strong rebounding work, averaging 8.5 boards to pace MU.
Anochili-Killen’s league-leading block total is now up to 81, leaving him in the top 5 nationally in rejections.
After Saturday, Marshall returns home to wrap up the regular season, hosting Old Dominion on Tuesday, then taking on Appalachian State again next Friday.
Saturday’s game is the 55th meeting between Marshall and Appalachian State and the Herd has won 34 of the previous meetings, though the Mountaineers took two from Marshall last season.