Hard-working Marshall cruises past West Liberty

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, November 14, 2007

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — No surprises.

Things went according to script as the Marshall Thundering Herd rolled past the West Liberty State College Hilltoppers 94-72 in an exhibition game Tuesday at the Henderson Cener.

“We played hard, but we expect to play hard. We’re not going to pat ourselves on the back for what’s expected. We have to develop that kind of a mentality around here,” said first-year Marshall coach Donnie Jones.

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While the Herd won his second straight exhibition game as expected, things start for real next Tuesday when Marshall hosts Pikeville (Ky.) College, Jones’ alma mater.

As for the West Liberty game, Mark Dorris scored 25 points to go with 11 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Herd.

Tirrell Baines scored 21 points while Markel Humphrey and Jean Francois Bro Grebe had 12 each.

Marshall led just 43-36 at the half, but outscored West Liberty 51-36 in the second half as Dorris, Baines, and Bro Grebe combined for 31 points.

West Liberty led for most of the first half including 34-33 with 4:06 on the clock. But two foul shots by Dorris, a dunk by Humphrey, and a layup by Adam Williams opened up the lead.

Marshall used a 10-2 run early in the second half to extend the lead to 56-42 and continued to pull away.

Chris Banal and Ben Howlett had 17 points each for West Liberty.