Feb. 13, 2008

Box Score

Marshall at SMU Game Book

DALLAS - Senior Mark Dorris hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds on the clock to give Marshall a 75-74 win over SMU in Conference USA men's basketball action at Moody Coliseum on Wednesday.

Marshall head coach Donnie Jones drew up the winning play with a timeout with 10.7 seconds on the clock. Rather than go for the tie, Marshall snapped its four-game road losing skid in regulation on the 3-pointer and won its second straight to improve to 13-10 and 5-5 in C-USA play. SMU drops to 8-14, 2-7 in league action.

SMU's Derrick Roberts broke a 72-72 tie on a highly-contested layup with 13.7 seconds left. Jones' timeout, after MU crossed mid-court, allowed Marshall guard Darryl Merthie to dribble around the perimeter and find Dorris coming off a screen. The Cincinnati native hit nothing but net, fading away, as he scored MU's final eight points of the game.

"My teammates set good screens to get me wide open," Dorris said of the game-winner. "We ran the play correctly, Merthie curled and found me. Luckily it went it in. It's a big win for us."

Marshall shot a season-best 54.3 percent from the floor. The Mustangs, however, were just as hot from the field with a 53.2 percent clip, including 62.5 percent after halftime. The Herd went 12-for-13 from the free-throw line in the second half and 18-for-23 (78.3 percent) overall.

Dorris tied the game at 70-70 on a 3-pointer with 2:30 remaining, then, after a Roberts jumper, the senior turned the ball over on a walk. Dorris redeemed himself on the Mustangs' next possession with a steal and fastbreak lay-up to knot the game at 72 apiece with one minute left, leading to the late-game dramatics.

Dorris collected 16 of his 18 points after halftime, finishing 7-for-14 shooting. Forward Tirrell Baines scored a career- and game-high 24 points with 11 rebounds (five offensive) for his third double-double this season. The freshman set career-highs by going 9-for-13 from the floor.

MU guard/forward Markel Humphrey played all 40 minutes while still battling a stress fracture in his foot. Humphrey recorded 12 points and five rebounds with two assists, two steals and a block. Merthie, who returned after missing the ECU game (foot), scored 10 points (3-for-5 from 3-point range) in just 15 minutes off the bench.

The Herd scored a 16-5 edge in second-chance points thanks to a 13-5 advantage in offensive rebounds and a 31-17 rebound total overall.

Roberts paced the Mustangs with 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting, while Jon Killen and Bamba Fall scored 16 points apiece. Killen dished out a game-high seven assists. SMU, averaging nearly five blocks per game, failed to record a rejection.

SMU led 68-62 with four minutes remaining in the game. The Mustangs went on several scoring runs in the second half, including a 13-4 spurt, which kept Marshall at bay for much of the second stanza. Marshall showed resolve on the road, however, and continued to chip away at the Mustangs.

The teams entered halftime tied at 38-38. The Herd trailed by 10 points, 31-21, with 6:20 left in the first half. Marshall ended the opening 20 minutes on a 17-7 run.

Tyler Wilkerson followed home a Dorris missed 3-pointer with a thunderous two-handed slam two minutes into the game for MU's second field goal and a 6-4 SMU lead. After two Fall free throws, Killen nailed a trey for a seven-point Mustang edge, prompting a Jones timeout at 17:11.

Baines pulled down two offensive rebounds in consecutive Herd possessions just over midway through the first half to spark Marshall after a scoring drought. The freshman deftly passed to an open Merthie for a 3-pointer on the first rebound then pivoted in the lane for a fade away jumper on the second to cut MU's deficit to 17-15 with 10 minutes remaining.

Humphrey took a feed from Baines in the lane for a dunk and a foul for the traditional three-point play and a 31-26 SMU lead at 5:21. A Dorris steal on SMU's next possession led to an alley-oop fastbreak dunk by Baines. Alex Malone answered with a trey seconds later, but Marshall netted the next five points, a Pierre-Marie Altidor Cespedes 3-pointer and a Humphrey scoop lay-in, for a one-point Herd deficit and a Matt Doherty timeout.

After two Papa Dia free throws, Humphrey tied the game at 36-36 with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with two and a half minutes left in the first stanza. The Herd took its first lead since 2-1 when Baines dropped a reverse lay-in with 59 seconds remaining.

The Herd dressed only 10 players after injuries and illnesses continue to ravage the lineup. Freshman Matt Walls sat out his first game following his broken hand suffered on Saturday versus East Carolina. Senior Jean Francois Bro Grebe did not dress for the second straight game (knee soreness) while freshman Bruce Senior never left the team hotel after falling ill.

MU forward Robbie Jackson went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line and added four rebounds in 19 minutes. Wilkerson, coming off a career-high 25-point outing versus ECU and averaging 13.7 points over the last seven games, played only 10 minutes due to foul trouble. He finished 1-for-3 for two points.

The Herd will return to the Mountain State for a three-game homestand beginning with Saturday's tilt with Tulane. Tip-off with the Green Wave is slated for 7 p.m. ET.