By David Drucker/Contributing Writer
The Panthers defeated the Marshall University Thundering Herd in a 66-62 overtime thriller on Thursday. Despite the Thundering Herd’s barrage of three-pointers in the first half, the Panthers survived and used a combination of solid defense and stellar second-half play by junior forward Adrian Diaz and senior guard Dennis Mavin to pull out the win.
Sophomore forward Ryan Taylor, who was averaging 16.8 points per game before the contest, led the Thundering Herd to a fast start by way of three pointers. Marshall let it fly and was stellar shooting behind the arc, soon climbing out to a 17-6 with 11:43 left in the first half. Diaz was pulled out so that he would not compile too many fouls early on. FIU had to make substitutions to go small and close in on Marshall’s spectacular shooting. Thanks to 10-20 shooting from three-point land, the Thundering Herd climbed to a 36-21 lead over FIU by halftime. With Diaz out of the game, Marshall was also able to out rebound the Panthers by a ratio of 24-11.
In the beginning of the second half, the Thundering Herd found that their long shots were not falling as they did earlier. After going 0-3, they began to use the inside lanes that FIU had inevitably been giving them in an attempt to close on Marshall’s shots. The Panthers, however, came across newfound energy on offense in the second half. Diaz returned to action and began to dominate in the paint, blocking shots and cleaning up with put-backs on offense. Mavin broke loose on two transition layups. Marshall broke down offensively, unable to score both in the paint and from around the arc. The result: the Panthers tied the game at 49 with 6:16 left in the second half. FIU and Marshall exchanged drives to the rim for the remainder of the half and the Panthers were able to force the game into overtime.
Mavin and Diaz led the way again in overtime as they did in the second half. Diaz blocked and frustrated Marshall’s attempts to drive to the rim, and none of the Thundering Herd were able to match up with him on defense. Diaz blocked Taylor at the rim with seconds remaining to seal a 66-62 win for the Panthers. Mavin ended with 19 points. After their spectacular start, Marshall ended the game on 22-70 shooting.
The Panthers improve to 9-8 on the season and 2-2 in Conference USA play. The team recorded their first all-time victory over the Thundering Herd, who have played FIU twice before. Marshall, however, falls to 4-13 and continues their seven-game losing streak.
Next up for the Panthers is Western Kentucky University. They will host the Hilltoppers this Saturday January 17 at 6:00 p.m.
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