Marshall Basketball Recap: Dorris leads Herd over Hokies

CUSA-fans.com has a new staff of team correspondents this season to help bring you, the fan, more detailed Conference USA sports coverage. Today, our new Marshall Correspondent Paul Wood brings the latest update on the Marshall Thundering Herd basketball team.

Mark Dorris scored 17 first half points to lead the Herd in a 59-58 upset win over Virginia Tech. Marshall squandered a 38-21 halftime lead and had to block a last-chance shot to ensure the victory.

Dorris led all scorers with 20 points. Travis Aikens was the only other Marshall player in double-digits with 11 points. Aikens also contributed a team high nine rebounds. Jean Francios Bro-Grebe blocked five Hokie shots, including the potential game winning shot by Virginia Tech’s leading scorer Zabian Dowdell.

Dowdell led Virginia Tech with 17 points. Senior forward Coleman Collins added nine points and a game high 14 rebounds.

A quick look at the stat line would indicate the Hokies might have won the game: Turnovers (MU 17, VT 10), FT % (MU 56%, VT 69%), Steals (MU 3, VT 8). However, the stat that likely led to the Herd victory was Virginia Tech’s inability to hit the 3-point shot. The Hokies shot just 7% (1-14) from beyond the arch. The Herd did not fair much better from deep, shooting 26% (6-23).

The real story for the Herd is Mark Dorris’ emergence as a scoring threat. He is coming off a career-high 22 points in a home loss to Bowling Green. Dorris’ effort now gives the Herd three players averaging 13 or more points per game. Dorris leads the team (13.5 ppg), followed by Travis Aikens (13.4 ppg), and Markel Humphrey (13.1 ppg).

The balanced scoring attack from the Herd could bode well once they jump back into conference play, January 10, at UTEP.

Next up for the Herd is a rematch with Ohio University. The game will be played in Huntington, WV on January 3rd.