By David Walsh
RUSTON, La. – Marshall rallied from 17 points down early in the second half to knock off Louisiana Tech, 80-73, Saturday night at the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court to get a split in the opening Conference USA series of the season.
The Bulldogs held a 48-31 lead with 16:40 left when Amorie Archibald drained a three-pointer. From that point, the Thundering Herd, behind strong bench play, started the long road back. Taevion Kinsey’s basket with 2:53 left gave the Herd its first lead since early in the game at 69-67 and the visitors steadily pulled away to get the rare win at this facility.
The Bulldogs had won 13 in a row at home over the past two seasons.
“We showed our toughness as a team,” Marshall coach Dan D’Antoni said of the team’s post-game radio interview. “They closed hard. They’re physical, play hard. To come back shows our competitive spirit.”
Marshall made 19-of-30 shots in the second half after going 9-for-33 in the first 20 minutes. Kinsey again led the way with 20 points (9-for-9 at the foul line). Mikel Byers netted 17 off the bench, Goran Miladinovic 10 off the bench, Jarrod West hit for 13 and Andrew Taylor put together another complete game with 13 points, 10 rebounds (double-double) and nine assists to fall one statistic short of a triple-double.
“Goran gave us good minutes,” D’Antoni said. “He gave us a lift inside. Byers hit a couple of big shots. TK (Kinsey) had his normal game. The three guards are the heart of our team.
“Andrew’s going to get a lot better. He’s starting to feel the offensive point of it. He goes to the rim every time.”
The Bulldogs took a 40-27 lead at halftime and stretched it to 17 before Marshall put on the breaks despite being in foul trouble most of the night. The Bulldogs made 21-of-30 free throws to 14-of-21 for Marshall.
“To start with a split is big,” D’Antoni said. “They’re tough to beat here.”
Isaiah Crawford led Louisiana Tech with 18 points and Cobe Williams added 17. Archibald finished with 11 and Kalob Ledoux 10. He is the team’s top scorer with 14 a game.
Marshall, which scored a season-low 68 points in Friday’s 75-68 defeat, finished with 10 threes to four for the Bulldogs.
Marshall returns home next for two games against Charlotte. Friday’s game is at 6 p.m. Start time Saturday is 4 p.m. Fox Sports will televise both games.
Charlotte will come in after a home split against Western Kentucky. The 49ers beat the Hilltoppers in overtime Saturday. Western Kentucky is the preseason C-USA favorite.