Staff Report

 

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – On Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, the Marshall men’s basketball team will play at Belmont, a rematch of a classic one-point game played earlier this season.

The Thundering Herd (9-2) and Bruins (8-5) will play just 10 days following its first meeting, an exciting 87-86 game on Dec. 19 that resulted in a Marshall victory. The Herd held a 13-point lead midway through the second half.

However, the game came down to a final possession as the 5,759 inside the Cam Henderson Center held its breath and watched Belmont’s Kerron Johnson layup attempt at the buzzer roll off the front of the rim.

Both teams have played a game since then as Marshall beat West Virginia Tech 99-80 and Belmont defeated Austin Peay 77-67.

The Herd is led by sophomore guard DeAndre Kane’s 16.5 points per game, a mark that rose following a 29-point performance against Belmont. Junior forward Dennis Tinnon is coming off his sixth double-double of the season. He ranks third in Conference USA and 16th in the NCAA in rebounds per game with 10.4.

Marshall is ranked third in the NCAA in rebounds per game at 42.3 and second in offensive rebounds per game at 17.3.

Belmont is 5-0 at home this season with tough road losses at Duke, Memphis, Middle Tennessee, Miami (Ohio) before falling at Marshall.

Johnson leads the Bruins in scoring (14.9) and was one of five Belmont players to score in double-figures against Marshall.

Belmont has made 73.2 percent of its free throws this season, but was much better than that on Dec. 19. The Bruins made 25-of-29 free throws in the first meeting including a 10-for-10 effort from Johnson.

The game is the second-ever meeting between the two schools and can be heard on the radio throughout the Thundering Herd Network.