Herd beats hot-shooting Tigers
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, December 25, 2007
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — In this case it’s quantity, not quality.
Princeton shot 68.2 percent in the second half, but the Tigers managed only 22 attempts as they made 15 shots and the Marshall Thundering Herd came away with a 66-60 win Saturday.
“Very rarely do you get a win when you give up 67 percent shooting in the second half,” said Herd coach Donnie Jones. “But we tried to limit them to one shot on defense while we tried to pound it in on offense.”
Marshall (6-3) led by as many as 12 points in the first half and was up 32-22 at the break.
The game featured two ties and five lead changes, all in the first half.
But in the second half, Princeton (2-9) kept battling back and got within three points on two occasions, the second with 34 seconds left on a 3-pointer by Lincoln Gunn.
Pierre-Marie Altidor Despedes was fouled two seconds later and hit a foul shot to make it 62-58.
Marcus Schroeder missed a 3-point attempt for Princeton with 15 seconds left and Mark Dorris rebounded for the Herd and was fouled. Dorris hit both attempts and it was 64-58.
Zach Finley got a put-back for the Tigers with three seconds left, but Darryl Merthie was foul and hit both shots to set the final score.
“We showed mental toughness down the stretch to win this game,” said Jones. “We were going to have to grind it out on every possession until the end,” said Jones.
Markel Humphrey led Marshall with 19 points and seven rebounds. Baines added 10 points.
Koncz had 12 points for Princeton. Kevin Steuerer, Mike Strittmatter and Schroeder had 10 each.
PRINCETON
(2-9)
Kyle Koncz 4-7 1-1 12, Noah Savage 2-5 0-0 4, Zach Finley 3-6 0-0 6, Marcus Schroeder 3-6 3-5 10, Lincoln Gunn 3-8 1-1 8, Matt Sargeant 0-1 0-0 0, Kevin Steuerer 3-4 45 10, Mike Strittmatter 5-9 0-1 10. Totals: 23-46 9-13 60. 3-point goals: 5-18 (Koncz 3-5, Savage 0-3, Schroeder 1-4, Gunn 1-5, Strittmatter 0-1). Fouls: 19. Fouled out: Schroeder. Rebounds: 7-13=20 (Koncz 5, Finley 5). Team rebounds: 2. Assists: 12 (Steuerer 4, Strittmatter 3). Steals: 4 (Steuerer 2). Turnovers: 11. Blocked shots: 1 (Strittmater).
MARSHALL
(6-3)
Markel Humphrey 6-7 7-9 19, Tirrell Baines 4-9 2-3 10, Matt Walls 1-3 0-0 2, Pierre-Marie Altidor Despedes 2-3 1-2 7, Mark Dorris 2-12 2-2 6, Darryl Merthie 2-3 5-6 9, Taurean Marshall 2-3 0-0 5, Tyler Wilkerson 3-4 2-3 8. Totals:22-44 19-25 66. 3-point goals; 3-10 (Walls 0-1, Altidor Cespedes 2-2, Dorris 0-4, Merthie 0-1, Taurean Marshall 1-2). Rebounds: 11-17=28 (Humphrey 7, Walls 6). Team rebounds: 1. Assists: 11 (Altidor Cespedes 5). Steals: 3 (Marshall 2).
Princeton2238=60
Marshall3234=66
Attendance: 4,409. Technical fouls: None. Officials: Gene Menees, Jeff Nichols, Bret Smith.