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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- The Marshall men's basketball team used a 20-point advantage at the free-throw line to post a 70-67 victory over Morehead State before a crowd of 5,877 on Wednesday night at the Cam Henderson Center.
The Conference USA Thundering Herd improves to 4-3 on the season, while the Ohio Valley Conference Eagles slip to 4-3 overall. Marshall improves to 50-44 in the all-time series and has now won 11 straight over MSU at home.
"Our team fought hard tonight and came up a little short against a quality opponent on the road," Head Coach Sean Woods said. "We're still a work-in-progress. Our guys are hungry and will continue to get better."
Marshall junior D.D. Scarver led all scorers with 17 points on 12-of-13 from the free-throw line, while senior Dennis Tinnon chipped in with 12 points and a game-best 16 rebounds.
Morehead State was called for 32 fouls in the contest, while Marshall was only whistled for 17 infractions. The Eagles now have been called for 183 fouls this season, while their opponents have committed only 109.
The foul differential led to 28 more free-throw attempts for Marshall. The Thundering Herd made 28-of-44 from the charity stripe, while the Eagles drilled just 8-of-16.
Junior Jarrett Stokes led the Eagles with career highs of 14 points, on 5-of-9 shooting and 4-of-6 from behind the arc, and five rebounds. Senior Milton Chavis added 11 points, while senior Kahlil Owens led the charge on the glass with eight and junior Chad Posthumus posted seven boards.
Marshall connected on 33 percent (20-of-60) of its shots, while Morehead State knocked down 37 percent (26-of-71) from the floor. The Herd managed a 53-46 rebounding advantage, including 24 offensive boards. The Eagles tallied a 21-9 upper hand off the bench.
"Marshall beat us with free-throw attempts (44) and offensive rebounds (24) tonight," Woods said. "They're not a great shooting team, but they really pound the offensive glass. Those were the differences on the stat sheet."
The Eagles largest lead of the game was seven early in the first half, while Marshall’s largest margin of eight came with just over a minute left in the game. The game featured 10 lead changes and four ties. The Herd scored 17 points off 15 MSU turnovers.
Morehead State stormed back after trailing by eight with just over a minute left. Stokes and senior Devon Atkinson combined for eight points in the last minute, but Marshall swished home its final seven free-throw attempts to hang on for the win.
Morehead State returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Horizon League opponent Wright State. The tip-off from the Nutter Center is set for 2 p.m. ET. The game will be available on the Eagle Sports Network.
"We're looking forward to having two good practices before another tough road test at Wright State," Woods added.
