Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU men's basketball team returned home to the UPMC Events Center Saturday, falling to Marshall, 69-60, in front of 1,627 fans. The Colonials slipped to 4-7 (.364) overall during the 2022-23 campaign with the loss.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Freshman
Stephaun Walker converted off an offensive rebound to give the Colonials an early 4-3 lead, but RMU went seven-and-a-half minutes without scoring as the Thundering Herd posted a 10-0 spurt to open up a 13-4 lead. Senior guard
Michael Green III ended the drought with a three-pointer, and a layup from Walker pulled the Colonials to within 15-9 before Marshall (9-1) scored the next eight points of the contest to extend their advantage to 23-9.
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"Really proud of the way we battled on the defensive side, but we just didn't have enough offensively," RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole. "As I'm reflecting I probably made some calls that I didn't love, and that's on me, but Marshall is a really good team. Our defense gave us a chance, but we just weren't able to get enough on the offensive side. They are long as can be, and they switch out, which makes it really hard to get clean looks either from three or at the rim. We had some opportunities at the rim, but Micah Handlogten was able to either block the shot or affect the shot. Some of the perimeter looks I thought we had were pretty clean, but all of the sudden you shoot it a little bit quicker because you're not completely comfortable because of the length and size coming at you."
AT THE RIM
Marshall owned a 30-16 lead at the break after holding the Colonials to just 20 percent (6-for-30) shooting in the opening 20 minutes, but RMU attacked the rim in the second half. Owning a 40-36 advantage in points in the paint overall on the game, the Colonials dug their deepest hole with 16 minutes left after a triple from Jacob Conner gave the Thunder Herd a 39-18 edge. A layup on the break from Handlogten helped Marshall keep its distance, 63-45, before a 10-0 burst saw RMU trim its deficit to 63-53 with 1:12 to play. Walker and fifth-year forward
Kahliel Spear each scored four points during the run. It looked as if the Colonials were about to force a turnover to keep the momentum going, but Kamdyn Curfman provided the dagger for Marshall, as Taevion Kinsey found him open in the far corner and buried a three-pointer.
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"I thought we guarded them in the first half about as well as you can guard them, holding them to 30 points," Toole said. "They're a really good offensive team. We're expending a lot of energy defensively in order to limit their efficiency. You can only stop them for so long. We just weren't able to get the shots or finishes we needed offensively."
THE SCORER
Coming into the game averaging 20.3 points per contest, Kinsey found his way to the rim for the Thundering Herd, notching his sixth game of the season eclipsing the 20-point plateau with a game-high 26 points. He shot 10-for-14 from the field, taking just one shot from beyond the arc, and was 6-for-7 at the free-throw line. Kinsey scored 17 points in the second half and was one of three in double figures for the Thundering Herd. Andrew Taylor chipped in 15 points, while Curfman scored 10 as Marshall shot 49.1 percent (27-for-55) overall.
ROUND MOUND OF REBOUND
Saturday's first home game in a month saw the blossoming of Walker for RMU, who notched his first career double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, both career highs. Of his 11 caroms, six came on the offensive glass, and he converted seven of his 11 shots from the field while also going 3-for-4 at the charity stripe. He tied for team-high honors in scoring with junior guard
Enoch Cheeks, who finished with 17 points, four rebounds and three steals.
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"(Walker) does an excellent job on the glass," Toole said. "His aggressiveness to finish, his aggressiveness around the rim and his aggressiveness to rebound it. That puts pressure on an opponent. He certainly went pretty religiously on the glass tonight, which we talked about being a key to the game, and he really helped us out by doing it."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Off the bench Green III chipped in 11 points and three assists for RMU. His first field goal of the contest, a three-pointer at the 10:37 mark of the first half, helped him eclipse 1,000 career points for his NCAA Division I career. Green III has scored 377 points in 38 career games with the Colonials after scoring 633 in two seasons at Bryant before transferring.
UP NEXT
RMU has a week off before returning to action, which comes on the road. The Colonials visit Emmitsburg, Md., Sunday, Dec. 18, for a 2:00 p.m. tip against Mount St. Mary's in their final non-conference road game of the 2022-23 season.
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