The Marshall University men’s basketball team rebounded after two straight away losses in an exciting 94-80 win against Western Kentucky University Saturday at the Cam Henderson Center. The win keeps the Herd undefeated at home.

Not only was the 1971-72 Marshall men’s basketball team, who advanced to the NCAA tournament, honored at halftime, but the largest home crowd of the season with 6,813 people was in attendance for the nationally televised matchup, as well. The Herd scored 19 three-pointers to not only tie for record threes made in a single game, it was also the team’s high in shots made in a single game, passing their previous high of 15 against then-No. 24 Cincinnati.

Marshall started slow in the first half, as Western Kentucky raced out to a 20-8 lead early on. The Hilltoppers remained in the lead until a three by sophomore guard C.J. Burks tied the score for the first time at the 8:27 mark. Directly after, the Herd took over the lead after a three by senior forward Austin Loop.

Despite WKU making the last shot of the half, Marshall went into the half-time with a 40-39 lead over the visitors.

The second half brought out a more aggressive side to Marshall as they remained in the lead for the majority of the second half. The Herd’s six three-pointers early in the second half allowed them to gain a lead that put them in a good position for the remainder of the half.

The Hilltoppers did not score for nearly two and a half minutes, where Marshall grew their lead to 25-points with only 4:45 left in the half. WKU did not give up, ultimately closing the gap to 14. The deficit would remain 14 as the clock hit triple zeros and Marshall took home the victory, 94-80, snapping their two-game losing skid.

“We weren’t too worried about it,” junior guard Jon Elmore said. “We might be down 20, we might be up 20, but the game’s not over with how we play. We play so fast and shoot so many threes and get up and down it’s kind of hard for us to stay behind sometimes.”

Senior forward Ryan Taylor led in rebounds with 10 and Burks led the team in assists with six. Elmore led the Herd in points with 27, with 21 of them coming via the three-ball.

“I saw that the first five or six minutes they had a 14-point lead, go in with a 1-point lead that’s a 15-point difference, pretty good ball club, well coached,” head coach Dan D’Antoni said. “Good win for us, we’ve got a chance to now get ready for next week and its home for the next two, so we’ll see what happens.”

With the win, the Herd remain undefeated at home and improve to 5-2 in Conference USA play. They stay home for their next game against the UTSA Roadrunners Jan. 26 at “The Cam.” Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Kaitlyn Shouse can be contacted at [email protected].