By GRANT TRAYLOR
Marshall Associate AD Director of Strategic Communications
Marshall junior center Nate Martin notched his 11th double-double of the season and added a career high 24 points to lead the Thundering Herd to an 83-67 win over Southern Miss in front of 4,697 fans at Cam Henderson Center on Saturday.
Martin led Marshall in points (24), rebounds (10) and assists (6) in the win while hitting nine of 11 field goal attempts in the game.
“Our offense is smoothing out a little better and it’s starting to look like a Marshall team with the scores up in the 80s,” Marshall head coach Dan D’Antoni said. “I’m proud of the guys. They came out and put on a good show. I enjoyed it and I hope (everyone) did, too.”
With the win, Marshall evens its record at 11-11 on the season while moving to 6-3 in the league standings. The win was also important as the Herd moves into the top four teams in SBC, which is the mark for getting a bye in the conference tournament at season’s end.
Marshall never trailed in the contest as the offense got going from the start with Martin hitting six of his first seven field goals, which opened up the offense.
The Herd ended the game shooting 56 percent (31 of 55) from the floor while knocking down eight of 18 3-point attempts in the contest as well. More importantly, the offense turned the ball over just once in the second half as the lead ballooned as high as 25 points in the blowout win over one of the SBC’s top teams.
“We played a good ballgame,” D’Antoni said. “This was a good ballclub and they shoot the ball extremely well. To get out 20 points on them and hold it up to 16, that’s a pretty good night.”
While Martin took care of business inside, senior Kam Curfman took full advantage on the outside, knocking down four 3-pointers while joining Martin above the 20-point plateau with 21 points.
Also for the Herd, Kevon Voyles added 13 points while Jacob Conner netted 12 points on an efficient 5-of-6 shooting performance.
While the offense was good, the defense was equally as impressive, forcing 16 turnovers that turned into 24 points.
Marshall continues its four-game homestand on Thursday, Feb. 1, when the team hosts Old Dominion at 7 p.m. The Herd then returns home for a 4 p.m. contest with Coastal Carolina on Saturday to close out the weekend.
Marshall 84, Southern Miss 67
SOUTHERN MISS. (12-9)
Hall 0-1 2-2 2, Iwuakor 5-7 2-3 12, Izay 1-1 0-0 2, Armstrong 1-2 0-0 2, Arnold 0-2 2-2 2, Crowley 6-12 3-3 18, Ivory 5-17 0-0 12, Montgomery 6-9 0-0 17. Totals 24-51 9-10 67.
MARSHALL (11-11)
Anochili-Killen 3-4 0-0 7, Martin 9-11 6-11 24, Curfman 7-17 3-5 21, Voyles 5-12 2-2 13, Conner 5-6 0-1 12, Fricks 2-4 2-2 6, Nutter 0-0 0-0 0, Sarenac 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-55 13-21 83.
Halftime–Marshall 41-33. 3-Point Goals–Southern Miss. 10-25 (Montgomery 5-8, Crowley 3-6, Ivory 2-8, Armstrong 0-1, Hall 0-1, Iwuakor 0-1), Marshall 8-18 (Curfman 4-11, Conner 2-2, Anochili-Killen 1-2, Voyles 1-2, Sarenac 0-1). Fouled Out–Crowley. Rebounds–Southern Miss. 24 (Ivory 8), Marshall 27 (Martin 10). Assists–Southern Miss. 14 (Ivory 5), Marshall 14 (Martin 6). Total Fouls–Southern Miss. 17, Marshall 12. A–4,697 (9,048).
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