Men’s basketball routed by Marshall at home

[Skipper]

Reece Waddell | Senior Staff Writer

@ReeceTapout15

North Texas returned to action on Thursday night following a four day break and was routed by Marshall University 97-78 at home. The Thundering Herd (8-9, 4-0) made 10 first half three pointers en route to the victory and never trailed in the game.

The Mean Green (7-10, 2-2) was without starting guard and leading scorer Deckie Johnson, who missed his first game of the season with a sprained right foot. In his absence, North Texas struggled mightily scoring the ball, finishing the first half without a made three pointer.

Sophomore forward Jeremy Combs did his best to pick up the slack and finished the game with a career high 28 points and 18 rebounds, his third consecutive double-double and sixth of the season. It was not enough, however, as the Mean Green ended the game 39 percent from the field.

Marshall came out of the gate strong and started the game on a 15-4 run aided by four missed free throws by North Texas. The Thundering Herd shot 75 percent from the field through the first five minutes and eventually jumped out to a 26 to 11 lead at the first media timeout.

North Texas was unable to defend the three point line in the first half, surrendering seven threes in the first 10 minutes. Marshall’s ability to push the ball up the floor and come off ball screens left the Mean Green flustered and searching for answers, as the Thundering Herd shot 55 percent from beyond the arc in the first half.

Marshall extended its lead to as much as 28 points and entered halftime leading 61-33 after the Thundering Herd converted two free throws with less than a tenth of a second remaining. Sophomore guard Jon Elmore led the way for Marshall, scoring a team high 21 points on 7 of 15 shooting.

The Mean Green opened the second half on a 5-0 run but were quickly stifled, as Marshall matched each made shot with one of its own. The Thundering Herd built its largest lead of the game at 87-54 after making its 14th three pointer of the game.

North Texas did make a 10-0 run of its own late in the second half, buckling down on defense to hold Marshall to 1-of-11 shooting over the last three minutes of play. But the 33 point deficit was too steep to overcome.

Next Up: North Texas hosts Western Kentucky University on Saturday Jan. 16. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

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