— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall had just gone on a 10-0 run to cut Western Kentucky’s lead from 54-37 to 54-47 with 12:42 left on the clock.
Up steps Luke Frampton, who played at Poca High and later left Davidson to finish his career with the Hilltoppers, and the senior connects on a 3-pointer with 12:25 to play to push the lead back to 10.
From there, Western Kentucky did all that was necessary to deny Marshall any more comeback attempts and won, 86-72, to spoil Senior Night for the Thundering Herd in front of 4,963 fans Wednesday night at Cam Henderson Center.
Marshall (11-19, 4-13) and the Hilltoppers, rivals in Conference USA, complete the home-and-home series at 3 p.m. Saturday at Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky.
“We do things we don’t do in practice,” Herd coach Dan D’Antoni said. “We don’t make the big plays when we have to. I cannot figure it out. We lost on the things we did, not what they did.”
Western Kentucky (18-12, 10-7 C-USA) had a good shooting night with 38-of-66 for 57.6 percent. The Hilltoppers won points in the paint, 42-30.
Camron Justice, who last season served as a graduate assistant in athletics at the school and then sought and gained the chance to play this season, led the charge with 27 points. That’s a career-high for him in a Western Kentucky uniform. He made 12-of-15 shots.
Dayvion McKnight added 23 points, Josh Anderson 16 and Jamarion Sharp, 7-foot-5 center, 12 and 11 rebounds for a double-double. He also blocked five shots to bring his season total to 135.
Taevion Kinsey, one of three Herd players honored before the game, led with 24 points. Andrew Taylor had 18 and Obinna Anochili-Killen 13.
Darius George and Mikel Beyers were the other two Marshall seniors honored. Kinsey could come back next year.
“I thought we came out strong. Then we kind of played into their game,” Kinsey said. “We lost a little energy (second half). The defensive assignments we didn’t do. Mental. We seemed to be all over the place.”
Kinsey admitted the Herd could’ve challenged Sharp more in the middle. He picked up his third foul with 13:54 to play and went to the bench. He came back with 8:45 to go.
“They played up on us,” Kinsey said. “They’ve got that big guy back there in the middle. Kudos to him. He’s got great timing, he’s a great shot blocker. We have to make smarter decisions. The game got away from us.”
After the rematch, both teams will head to Frisco, Texas for the C-USA Tournament scheduled next Tuesday through Saturday. If Western Kentucky wins the rematch for the sweep, it will give the Hilltoppers the No. 2 spot in the East and a bye.
D’Antoni knows what his team must shore up.
“For whatever reason we’re not disciplined enough to stay within what we do,” D’Antoni said. “They took advantage of it. That’s what good teams do. It’s really our discipline.”
Western Kentucky coach Rick Stansbury is now 8-4 against Marshall. Overall, the Hilltoppers have won six in a row against the Herd and 21 of the last 33 meetings.
Earlier Wednesday, Sharp was named as a semifinalist for the 2022 Naismith Men’s Defensive Player of the Year. The Atlanta Tipoff Club made the announcement. Sharp is one of 10 players to make the list and is one of three from outside the Power Five. The award is given annually to the nation’s top men’s defensive player.