By CODY LINN

Marshall Sports Information

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – With a 68-57 win over the Akron Zips (3-4), the Marshall University men’s basketball team (6-1) extended its win streak to six games on Wednesday night in the Cam Henderson Center. 

 “It was a quality win against a quality team,” Herd men’s basketball head coach Dan D’Antoni said after the win.  

Redshirt senior Andrew Taylor registered his first double-double of the season and seventh of his career with 16 points to go with a game-high 10 rebounds and six assists. The Corbin, Kentucky, native made seven of his 19 attempts from the field in the win. 

 With a game-high 21 points, fifth-year senior Taevion Kinsey recorded his fifth 20-point game of the season on a 50 percent shooting night (9-for-18). 

 Junior Kamdyn Curfman drained five of his 11 attempts from behind the arc for 15 points as freshman Micah Handlogten grabbed nine rebounds and rejected a career-high six shots. 

 Akron’s Xavier Castaneda came into the game averaging 20.3 points per game, but the Herd defense held him to just four points on a 1-for-13 night from the field. 

 MU started the contest on a 7-0 run with a layup by Handlogten and five points from Taylor in the first two minutes. Marshall then used another pair of 7-0 advantages to take a 16-point lead, 23-7, halfway through the first half. After the two sides traded points nearly the rest of the half, a Kinsey jumper put the Herd up 37-25 at the break. 

 MU put 16 of its 32 shots through the basket to shoot 50 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes of action. 

 Marshall continued its dominance into the second half. It went on a 10-0 and 8-0 run during the second half, with a Curfman three-pointer closing out the 8-0 advantage with 1:31 left on the clock to take an 18-point lead, 67-49, its largest of the game. The Zips tallied eight of the final nine points in the game, but the Herd hung on for the victory.  

UP NEXT 

Marshall closes out a five-game homestand against the Ohio Bobcats at 5 p.m. on Saturday in the Cam Henderson Center.

Marshall 68, Akron 57

AKRON (3-4)

Freeman 4-12 2-4 10, Castaneda 1-13 1-4 4, Hankerson 5-11 0-0 11, N.Johnson 0-4 0-0 0, Tribble 2-4 1-2 5, T.Johnson 7-13 0-0 16, Hunter 4-10 0-1 9, Clarke 1-3 0-0 2, Mitchell 0-0 0-0 0, Lyles 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-71 4-11 57.

MARSHALL (6-1)

Anochili-Killen 1-4 0-2 2, Handlogten 2-2 0-0 4, Curfman 5-12 0-0 15, Kinsey 9-18 2-2 21, Taylor 7-19 1-2 16, Conner 1-5 6-6 9, Fricks 0-1 1-3 1, Toussaint 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-61 10-15 68.

Halftime–Marshall 37-25. 3-Point Goals_Akron 5-25 (T.Johnson 2-5, Hunter 1-3, Hankerson 1-6, Castaneda 1-9, Clarke 0-1, N.Johnson 0-1), Marshall 8-28 (Curfman 5-11, Kinsey 1-3, Conner 1-4, Taylor 1-7, Fricks 0-1, Anochili-Killen 0-2). Rebounds–Akron 44 (Freeman 14), Marshall 33 (Taylor 10). Assists–Akron 12 (T.Johnson 4), Marshall 13 (Taylor 6). Total Fouls–Akron 15, Marshall 13. A–4,012 (9,048).