The Marshall University men’s basketball team defeated the Robert Morris University Colonials with a final score of 67-60 on Thursday evening at the Cam Henderson Center.

Junior guard Jarrod West led the Herd in points with 20. Sophomore guard Taevion Kinsey followed behind with 12 and junior forward Mikel Beyers had 11. Redshirt junior forward Jannson Williams had eight. Freshmen newcomers center Goran Miladinovic and guard/forward Marko Sarenac contributed eight points in total.

“What a game,” Marshall Head Coach Dan D’Antoni said. “Offensively, we’ve got some work to do. That’s a good team (Robert Morris). That’s a tough opening night. Defensively, we’re better than what we were last year. We pressured them.”

Redshirt freshman forward Cam Brooks-Harris led the team and had a career-high 10 rebounds.

For the Colonials, senior forward Yannis Mendy accredited 14 points. Redshirt senior Josh Williams followed with 13 and junior forward AJ Bramah was right behind with 11.

The Herd achieved more rebounds than the Colonials with 45-38. The team also made 26-of-59 (44.1%) of its shots compared to the Colonials 24-of-64 (37.5%) shots. The Herd had nine total blocks while Robert Morris had one.

“It starts in practice,” Kinsey said. “We preach energy in practice all throughout. From the jump, it’s energy. I think this team this year, we have to come with energy. Everybody knows that. Everybody was locked in and focused.”

The Colonials had only 14 turnovers while the Herd had 16 total. RMU’s 7-for-22 (31.8%) three-point shots outscored the Herd’s 4-for-20 (20%).

“I thought defensively, for the most part, we played great,” West said. “I thought we did a great job of communicating and being in the right spots, making everybody take tough shots. We obviously have to get better. It was a great environment.”

The Herd will continue to play at home and host the University of Toledo Rockets on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.

Taylor Huddleston can be contacted at [email protected].