Feb. 23, 2007

Marshall GameNotes
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UAB Gamenotes
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Thundering Herd plays its second consecutive game on the road with a contest at UAB Saturday afternoon at Bartow Arena. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. EST with the game being televised on Comcast Sports Southeat, Comcast Cable Channel 68 in Huntington.

In its last time out, the Herd escaped with a 54-51 win over East Carolina in Greenville. Sophomore forward Markel Humphrey (Ellenwood, Ga.), who leads the team in scoring and rebounding, led Marshall with 12 points and ten rebounds, his second double-double in three games. Junior guard Mark Dorris (Cincinnati, Ohio) also scored in double-figures with 11 points.

Marshall needed its final possession to win against the feisty Pirates in a game that featured ten ties and seven lead changes.

Although both teams struggled from the floor, Marshall won the battle on the boards, a deciding statistic. Many of them came down the stretch as the Herd kept the Pirates from expanding a one-point lead in the final three minutes and limited ECU to one-and-done on its offensive possessions late in the game. The Herd outrebounded ECU, 45-38, and 28-16 in the second half.

Humphrey leads the Herd in scoring and rebounding with 13.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, which ranks 9th and 4th in Conference USA, respectively.

UAB leads the all-time series between the two schools, 3-2, although the Herd won an earlier meeting in Huntington, 61-54, on Feb. 3. Marshall is 1-1 all-time in Bartow Arena - the Herd won, 68-66, on Dec. 30, 2003, and lost last season, 82-61, on Mar. 4, 2006.

In the first meeting between the Blazers and Herd, senior forward Travis Aikens (Orlando, Fla.) scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Thundering Herd past UAB, 61-54, at Henderson Center.

After weathering an 8-0 Blazer run to start the game, the Herd steadily got back into the contest, and on a Mark Dorris jumper with 10:14 to go in the first half, Marshall took the lead, 14-13, an advantage it would not relinquish the rest of the way.

UAB enters the game with a 14-13 record, 6-7 in Conference USA play. Paul Delaney III leads the team in scoring at 15.8 points per game. Wen Mekubu and Lawrence Kinnard also average double-digits with 14.3 and 13.1 points per game, respectively. Kinnard leads UAB on the glass with 6.1 rebounds per contest.

The game can also be heard regionally on the ISP/Thundering Herd Network and worldwide on www.HerdZone.com.