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MarshallƵs Obinna Anochili-Killen (25) celebrates after a basket as the Herd takes on Coppin State during an NCAA menƵs basketball game on Saturday at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington.
MarshallƵs Taevion Kinsey (24) attempts a shot against Coppin StateƵs Sam Sessoms (3) during an NCAA menƵs basketball game on Saturday at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington.
MarshallƵs Taevion Kinsey (24) puts up a shot as the Herd takes on Cooppin State during an NCAA menƵs basketball game on Nov. 19 at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington.
Marshall's Taevion Kinsey (24) drives the lane against Coppin State's Sam Sessoms (3) during an NCAA menƵs basketball game on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022, at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington.
Marshall's Andrew Taylor (0) puts up a shot against Coppin State defender Justin Winston (35) during an NCAA menƵs basketball game on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022, at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington.
Marshall fans cheer for the Herd as they take on Coppin State during an NCAA menƵs basketball game on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022, at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington.
HUNTINGTON Ƶ Coaches typically donƵt want their teams to be streaky, but MarshallƵs menƵs basketball team has a streak going that head coach Dan DƵAntoni doesnƵt necessarily mind.
The Thundering Herd notched its fourth consecutive game with at least 20 assists to open the season en route to an 86-67 win over Coppin State on Saturday night in front of 3,625 fans at Cam Henderson Center.
ƵThese guys are fun to coach,Ƶ DƵAntoni said. ƵA referee came by and said, ƵMan, your team is one of the easiest teams to referee. TheyƵre so fundamentally sound.Ƶ You know what? I appreciated that Ƶ not for me, but for my kids and for the staff. This is a pleasure, and I hope people enjoy it.Ƶ
Coming off a night in which he reached 2,000 points for his career, Marshall senior guard Taevion Kinsey did a little bit of everything Saturday.
Kinsey scored 23 points, dished out eight assists and added eight rebounds to lead Marshall. The senior from Columbus, Ohio, also knocked down all three of his 3-point attempts and walked into the postgame with a message.
ƵHey, I can knock those down, too,Ƶ Kinsey said with a smile.
While KinseyƵs effort was strong for the Herd, the stat line that brought the biggest smile to DƵAntoniƵs face was that produced by forward Obinna Anochili-Killen.
Killen, who had a slow start to the year after battling the flu, finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds while being active on both ends of the floor.
ƵA couple games, I havenƵt been feeling good,Ƶ Killen said. ƵAfter the Queens game, I had the flu or something, so I was just trying to back. Now, IƵm 100 percent so I decided to put it on the floor.Ƶ
Kinsey said the team is different when Killen gets it going like that and it was good to see him back to his old self.
ƵWe knew Obinna was going to be OK,Ƶ Kinsey said. ƵThe sickness ran through the team. Everybody on campus got sick, so it was bound to get us, but nobody ever lost faith in Obinna. He figures it out, works hard every day.Ƶ
Andrew Taylor also finished with 14 points, while Micah Handlogten added nine points and eight rebounds for Marshall (3-1), which out-rebounded Coppin State 49-33.
The gameƵs pivotal stretch came late in the first half when Marshall turned it up defensively and went on a 17-3 run over the final 5:23 to take a 47-33 lead into the halftime break.
Coppin State, which had won three straight coming in and had also taken Georgetown to overtime on the road, came out aggressive early behind guard Sam Sessoms, who led the Eagles with 19 points.
Sessoms consistently got to the rim and finished in traffic, helping the Eagles knot things at 30 late in the first half.
From there, however, Marshall switched to a zone defense and was able to slow down the EaglesƵ driving lanes, which DƵAntoni credited with making things difficult for Coppin State (3-3) offensively.
ƵWe hadnƵt played zone all year, so they hadnƵt seen it, and thatƵs about the time we broke into the zone,Ƶ DƵAntoni said. ƵWe got a few stops and we came down on the other end and scored.Ƶ
MarshallƵs menƵs basketball team has another quick turnaround as it hosts Chicago State at 7 p.m. Monday in what will be the teamƵs fourth game in eight days.
Grant Traylor is the sports editor of The Herald-Dispatch, who also covers Marshall athletics for HD Media. Follow him on Twitter @GrantTraylor.
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