Marshall Recap
By Anthony Doria, FM88 Sports
Jan. 3, 2025
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. (WMUL-FM) — On Thursday Night, the Marshall Thundering Herd (7-7) and the Texas State Bobcats (8-5) met in Huntington at the Cam Henderson Center. The Herd was looking to rebound from its tough loss to Elon, while the Bobcats looked to go 2-0 in Sun Belt Conference play as both teams played their first games of 2025.
Despite the tough matchup, The Herd won a close game 77-71 and checked off its first Sun Belt win in the Cornelius Jackson era.
Marshall came out firing in the first half. The Herd scored 19 of the first 23 points of the game. This was highlighted by a 13-0 run from 17:17 to the 12:34 mark in the first half. This burst for the Herd featured Obinna Anochili-Killen, Ryan Nutter, and Dezayne Mingo, who each scored tallied points during the Marshall run.
Marshall would reach the largest lead in the game at 16 points with 8:21 to go in the first half, with a 27–11 scoreline. Texas State would fight back and get the lead to 7 late in the first, but a bucket by Mingo and a Mikal Dawson triple would get the Herd a 37-25 lead going into the break.
Marshall didn’t let off the gas despite the big lead. The Herd held a double-digit lead for most of the second half. A late charge by the Bobcats proved to be too little, too late, as Marshall held on to take the win.
The win was highlighted by Marshall’s great shooting performance. The Green and White shoot 50% from the field, marking only the fourth time the Herd has shot 50% or better this season. The main contributor on offense was breakout player Dezayne Mingo, who tallied a career-high 23 points and paired it with 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Marshall’s defense also shut down the red-hot Bobcats. It held the Bobcats to only 25% from three (4-16), who came into the contest shooting 38% from deep.
Marshall will close the weekend out with another home game against the Troy Trojans at 4 p.m. on Saturday.