— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall coach Corny Jackson had plenty to talk about after the Thundering Herd rolled past WVU Tech, 102-52, Tuesday night in front of 3,587 fans at Cam Henderson Center.
The first number he harped on was assists. Marshall racked up 30 on 38 field goals. The last time the Herd had 30 assists came back on February 6, 2016 in a win at UTSA.
“If I had to talk about one thing, it’s 30 assists on 38 makes,” Jackson said. “Could’ve been more. Happy to see Caleb (Hollenbeck) get back on track. He had seven threes. He came out and really looked for his shots. The guys got him the ball. We’re still looking for the consistency of it. Let’s carry the same play into the Sun Belt.”
Marshall (8-5) also forced 17 turnovers and cashed in on them for 29 points. For the Golden Bears (3-7), the game counted as an exhibition, while it does not count toward Marshall’s postseason prospects.
Jackson Tackett hit a three-pointer for WVU Tech with 13:51 left in the opening half to tie the game at 13. The Herd’s Erich Harding countered with a putback for two at 12:39 to put the home team ahead for good. The margin would steadily grow the rest of the night.
Hollenbeck led the Herd with 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Wyatt Fricks finished with 19 and eight rebounds as well. Noah Otshudi had 13 points and Landen Joseph 10.
Tackett, a Logan native, was the lone WVU Tech player in double figures with 17.
Jackson felt the visitors, members of the River Stats Conference, battled.
“West Virginia Tech came ready to play,” he said. “They were physical. They score 85 points (78 is the average) a game. I don’t care who you play, 85 is a lot. We hold them to 52. They didn’t come down on vacation. They didn’t get scared by the bright lights. I think they just ran out of gas. And the kid from Logan (Tackett) had the game of his life.”
Marshall controlled the boards, 51-26, and the wide edge in points in the paint, 46-14.
In the second half, the Herd hit 18-of-28 shots (64 percent), including 7 of 11 from three. It also made 13-of-15 free throws.
“Sharing the ball and shooters hitting the open shots,” Hollenbeck said. “We got open lanes. Making shots opens everything up. It makes everyone’s job easier.”
Cutting down on negative plays is an important component for the Herd.
“Playing and eliminating the losing plays,” he said. “We got the switch defensively twice and it cost us six points. So over the course of a game, you make four or five of six, that can really cost you. As a coach, I look at how many winning plays did they make? Did you hit the floor first? Caleb got offensive rebounds off three misses before he got his first three. Those are three extra possessions for Marshall with an opportunity to score. We need to do that consistently. The thing is you can get lucky once, but can you keep doing it over and over again. So we have to keep getting better.”
The game provided a matchup of brothers coaching on different benches. Jackson, a former Herd assistant, is in year two as head coach. Benitez Jackson, former coach at Oak Hill High School, is now an assistant for the Golden Bears.
“He can tell I had an edge,” Corny Jackson said. “I came out, find him and gave some brotherly love. I was back doing my thing because I’m trying to win the game. It was one of those deals.”
The focus now shifts to Sun Belt play the rest of the season.
“This gets us in the flow for conference,” Jackson said. “That’s the main goal. We’ve got to be locked in. Locking in our shots, locking in our plays, locking in on our defense. Doing the right things right. Got to play the right way.”
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