Marshallòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Taevion Kinsey (24), right, drives the ball upcourt alongside Old Dominionòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Mekhi Long (0) as the Marshall University menòòò½ÊÓƵ™s basketball team takes on Old Dominion on Saturday, Jan. 14, inside the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington.
Marshallòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Taevion Kinsey (24), right, drives the ball upcourt alongside Old Dominionòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Mekhi Long (0) as the Marshall University menòòò½ÊÓƵ™s basketball team takes on Old Dominion on Saturday, Jan. 14, inside the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington.
HUNTINGTON òòò½ÊÓƵ” After playing five of its first six Sun Belt Conference games at home, the Marshall menòòò½ÊÓƵ™s basketball team is headed west for a two-game stretch, which begins Thursday at Texas State.
The Bobcats are allowing the fewest points per game to their opponents in league play and the defending back-to-back SBC regular-season champs will look to use that defensive prowess to slow down the Herd, which averages the second-most points per game in the Sun Belt.
That offense is led by Taevion Kinsey, who won his third SBC Player of the Week Award on Tuesday after leading the league in both points per game (23.5) and assists per game (7.5) this past week in directing the Herd to victories against Southern Miss and Old Dominion.
Kinsey has 12 contests this season of 20 or more points while dishing out at least five assists in eight of those games. He is the only player in the country averaging 20 or more points and 6.0 or more assists per outing and is the nationòòò½ÊÓƵ™s leader in made field goals this season (165).
Complementing his performance last weekend were Andrew Taylor, Marshallòòò½ÊÓƵ™s second-leading scorer, and Kamdyn Curfman, who is coming off a season-high 18 points against the Monarchs, knocking down six 3-pointers in that win.
Texas State has been victorious in three of its last four contests but is coming off a loss in its most recent game, a 61-58 road loss to Louisiana-Monroe last Saturday. Thursday will mark the first of three straight games at home in San Marcos, Texas.
It will also serve as the first ever meeting between Marshall and Texas State in menòòò½ÊÓƵ™s basketball.
The Bobcats enter Thursday allowing just 64.3 points per game, fourth-best in the Sun Belt. In conference play, the most points theyòòò½ÊÓƵ™ve given up was 62 on Jan. 5 in a 63-62 win over James Madison.
Mason Harrell is Texas Stateòòò½ÊÓƵ™s lone double-figure scorer, averaging 16.8 points per game. Heòòò½ÊÓƵ™s the lone Bobcat to start all 19 games and has scored 20 or more points in seven contests. Tyrel Morgan is the teamòòò½ÊÓƵ™s leading rebounder, pulling in just over six boards per game.
Luke Creasy is a reporter for The Herald-Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @LukeCreasy or reach him by phone at 304-526-2800.
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