MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) - Marvin Black scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Marshall past Central Michigan 72-63 on Saturday.

Central Michigan grabbed an early 9-6 lead on a 3-pointer by Brandon Voorhees but Marshall (5-4, 2-0 Mid-American Conference) then went on an 8-0 run to take the lead for good.

The Chippewas (3-8, 0-1) pulled within one point with 3:47 left in the game on a 3-pointer by Kevin Nelson but Marshall responded when Ronny Dawn drilled a 3-pointer of his own. Central Michigan would not score again.

Central Michigan went 11:40 in the first half between field goals but managed to keep it close with seven free throws. But the Chippewas struggled from the field in the half, hitting just 29 percent and only 1-of-11 from behind the arc.

Meanwhile, the Thundering Herd shot 52 percent from the field and 4-of-10 from the three-point line.

Marshall pushed its lead to 14 in the second half, but Central managed to stick around as Gerrit Brigitha scored 15 of his 26 points. The Chippewas shot nearly 52 percent in the second half.

Ardo Armpalu added 14 points for Marshall while T.J. Meerman scored 11 for Central Michigan.

Marshall 72, Cent. Michigan 63

MARSHALL

(5-4)

Black 6-12 8-12 20, Patton 1-2 2-2 4, Hamilton 2-3 2-2 7, Dawn 3-10 0-1 8, Whitted 0-5 0-0 0, Smith 2-6 5-6 9, Bunch 2-3 1-3 7, Anderson 1-3 1-2 3, Carter 0-1 0-0 0, Armpalu 5-7 4-6 14. Totals 22-52 23-34 72.

CENT. MICHIGAN

(3-8)

Moore 1-3 0-0 2, Hoskins 4-8 1-1 9, Brigitha 9-11 8-9 26, Meerman 3-4 2-3 11, Nelson 1-8 3-4 6, Barrett 0-1 0-0 0, Sevalia 0-0 0-0 0, Voorhees 1-5 2-2 5, Bowne 0-6 0-1 0, Harris 0-1 0-0 0, Carr 1-2 0-0 2, Dentlinger 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 21-52 16-20 63.

Halftime-Marshall 37, Cent. Michigan 28. 3-point goals-Marshall 5-18 (Bunch 2-3, Dawn 2-8, Hamilton 1-1, Smith 0-2, Whitted 0-4), Cent. Michigan 5-20 (Meerman 3-4, Voorhees 1-4, Nelson 1-5, Carr 0-1, Hoskins 0-2, Bowne 0-4). Fouled out-Meerman. Rebounds-Marshall 42 (Smith 9), Cent. Michigan 30 (Brigitha 8). Assists-Marshall 11 (Black, Hamilton 3), Cent. Michigan 12 (Brigitha 4). Total fouls-Marshall 19, Cent. Michigan 25. A-2,497.