The Associated Press

YPSILANTI, Mich.

Tuesday, January 16, 2001

YPSILANTI, Mich. – Tamar Slay and Cornelius Jackson scored 18 points apiece, and J.R. VanHoose tallied 14 points and 12 rebounds, as Marshall beat Eastern Michigan 72-46 on Monday night.

Marshall (10-3, 4-1 Mid-American) came out to a 17-5 lead in the game’s first seven minutes, and never allowed the Eagles to regain control.

Eastern (2-11, 0-4) trailed 38-20 at halftime, then scored only one point in the first five minutes of the second half. The Thundering Herd increased their lead to 47-21 before Melvin Hicks scored with 14:53 remaining in an attempt to get the Eagles back in the game.

Marshall made 49.2 percent of its shots overall while holding Eastern to 34.8 percent shooting.

The Herd, which scored 18 points off the Eagles’ 16 turnovers, led by as much as a 66-36 margin after VanHoose made a free throw with 7:12 on the clock.

Slay’s effort brought his career scoring total to 1,006.

Hicks led Eastern with 17 points. Ryan Prillman scored 13 off the bench, and Tyson Radney added eight points along with his game-high 13 rebounds.