Marshall Digs Out of Early Hole To Blast Visiting Middle Tennessee, 107-79

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — If it could go wrong for Marshall in the first five minutes of Friday’s game against Middle Tennessee, it did.

The Blue Raiders jumped out to a 14-0 lead before the Thundering Herd scored a point and led by as many as 15, but MU came roaring back to take a 107-79 win at home in the Cam Henderson Center.

“They didn’t panic, it was just sorry coaching,” Marshall coach Dan D’Antoni said. “I coached the first six minutes then they played the rest of the game. Which one is better, you think? We were sitting over there, and we had three good practices [this week] but it looked like we couldn’t pick the ball up and dribble. You know what? No panic in them. We scored 45 points in I think like maybe 10 minutes. It was quick.

“Once we got going, it looked like the flood gates opened up.”

VIDEO: MU COACH DAN D’ANTONI ON FRIDAY’S C-USA WIN AGAINST MIDDLE TENNESSEE

The big comeback in Marshall’s first home game since mid-January was not the only noteworthy news from Friday’s game as senior forward Jannson Williams broke Hassan Whiteside’s program record for blocks with block No. 182 and No. 183 for his career.

“He’s probably the key to our team,” D’Antoni said. “The reason being he is efficient. He doesn’t have to put up big numbers and he guards that rim efficiently. He’s real good at always being in the right spot.”

Marshall (11-5, 5-4 Conference USA) made fairly quick work of its comeback Friday. Middle Tennessee (5-12, 3-8 C-USA) took a 14-0 lead on the Herd with 15:21 to play in the first half and MU did not get on the scoreboard until the 14:58 mark when sophomore Andrew Taylor got a floater in the lane to fall.

A Mikel Beyers 3-pointer with 6:15 to play in the first half tied the game 28-28 before a Darius George 3-pointer with 2:29 remaining before halftime put Marshall ahead for good.

“Competition is funny, sometimes things just are what they are,”  D’Antoni said after the win. “One good thing about this group is that they all stay together and pull through.”

Junior Taevion Kinsey continued his recent run of standout play with a game-high 25 points to go with five assists. Taylor finished with 16 points while senior guard Jarrod West and freshman David Early each scored 15 against the Blue Raiders in the win.

Middle’s Jalen Jordan led MTSU with 22 points in the loss.

The Herd and Blue Raiders complete their pair of C-USA weekend games in Huntington on Saturday with tip-off scheduled for 4 p.m. and the broadcast available on streaming platforms via ESPN+.