— By David Walsh
On this particular night, it didn’t matter from where Marshall shot from. The Thundering Herd displayed the touch from about anywhere on the floor and blew past Georgia State, 92-79, in Sun Belt Conference basketball Thursday night at the CSU Convocation Center in Atlanta.
Another point in Marshall’s favor is the switch it made to a zone defense in the second half that took away the effectiveness of Georgia State’s inside play and led to a frigid finish from outside.
The Panthers, which got a tip-in basket just before the half for a 41-40 edge, opened a 60-55 lead with 12:01 left. Marshall then went on a 15-0 run to move in front 70-60 with 6:59 to play on a three-pointer by Mikal Dawson. The Herd (12-9, 5-3 Sun Belt) continued to pull away and had its biggest lead at 15 (86-71) with 1:23 left.
Marshall made 31-of-58 shots for 53 percent shooting as a team, including 12 of 19 from three for 63 percent and 18 of 21 on free throws (86 percent).
“We shot the ball well. I couldn’t be more proud of the guys. Much better in the second half than the first half energy wise,” first-year Herd coach Corny Jackson said.
Jalen Speer led Marshall with 25 points and made 8-of-12 shots and 5-of-8 threes. Obinna Anochili-Killen followed with 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting. He also grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked nine shots to just miss a triple-triple.
Dawson totaled 17 points and was 4 of 7 from three, while Wyatt Fricks closed with 12 (5 of 5, 2 of 2 on threes) much to the delight from fans who made the hour trip from his hometown of Lawrenceville.
On the flip side, Georgia State shot 42 percent (30 of 71) and 35 percent from three (7 of 19).
After watching Georgia State prevail from close range time and again, Jackson motioned for a switch to the 2-3 zone that proved more than effective.
“We’ve been working on it,” Jackson said. “It was good against James Madison so we keep it in mind. We knew they’d try to go to their big guys inside, but I didn’t know they’d be so efficient. They began to miss and we hit some vital shots. Instead of two big men inside, they went to one and tried to get him the ball. Told our guys be alert and locate the shooters. It kind of changed the game.”
The start by the Herd prove to be a different matter.
“Came out flat to start the game,” Jackson said. “We didn’t really have the energy, pop, urgency, intensity, enthusiasm we needed. The guys really responded the second half. We call the zone, it’s been good to us a few games and we kept it going to change pace.”
Jackson liked the spark Fricks provided in his 20 minutes and Spears in his 16. The Herd again didn’t have guard Ryan Nutter available.
“Good to see,” Jackson said. “Wyatt hit a couple of threes and Kai played well. They’re both energy guys and we needed a shot of juice. Let’s bring some energy. They did and made momentum plays. Wyatt had a whole fan club. Brought out some mojo. Happy for him. Anytime you come home and fans come out and get to see you play and you walk out with a win it’s good.”
Jackson said at one point, Anochili-Killen wanted to come out. Instead the Herd took timeout to let him refresh and stay in.
“That was near the top,” Jackson said of Anochili-Killen. “He had the nerve to ask for a sub late. Told him I could do one better. Timeout. He was too valuable for us on the defensive end.
Anochili-Killen is the team’s No. 1 shot blocker for the season (61) and is the career leader (246).
That 15-0 run was a thing of beauty as well for the Herd, but Jackson didn’t pay that much attention to the run.
“I didn’t realize it,” Jackson said. “Try to get stops, do the right thing, not do things too early, not looking at the clock. I was more concerned with execution. I’m sure it’ll look nice on film.”
Georgia State is 7-13, 3-5 SBC and its losing streak is at three. Cesare Edwards led the Panthers with 21. Toneari Lane had 18, Nick McMullen 12 and Malachi Brown 10. McMullen added 12 rebounds for a double-double.
Marshall’s next game is at 3 p.m. Saturday against Georgia Southern in Statesboro.