The Marshall Men’s Basketball Team fell to the Radford Highlanders 66-62 on Friday, Nov. 10, at the Greenbrier Resort in Lewisburg, West Virginia.

The Herd trailed the majority of the contest. Going into the half, Marshall was down 33-23. The Herd struggled shooting the ball in the first, going zero for nine from beyond the arc and making only eight of its first 30 shots.

“We weren’t ready to play,” said Dan D’Antoni, Herd Men’s Basketball head coach. “It’s a new team. We’re looking to get our leadership and how you come and prepare for every game down.” 

The Herd struggled statistically, only shooting 21% from three and 32% from the field. However, the Herd’s defense tallied six blocks and seven steals; five of the seven steals came from newcomer Kevon Voyles tying his career high in steals.

“They have a veteran squad who came back and who’s used to the big strong games and traveling,” D’Antoni said. “We have to be better. We were down by as many as 15. We did fight back. They were a lot more physical. We’re going to have to be more physical.”

The Herd found its spark in the second half, outscoring the Highlanders 39-33 in the last 20 minutes of play, including making four out of 10 three pointers shot in the second half. 

Guard Kamdyn Curfman tallied all four of those three pointers in the second half. Curfman finished the night with a team high 18 points.

Texas State transfer Nate Martin secured his first double-double of the season, accounting for 16 points and 11 rebounds. Martin also had four big blocks throughout the game.

Going into the final seconds of the game, the Herd went on a 10-1 run finished off by a Martin layup that tied the game 62-62 with 24 seconds left on the clock.

In the game’s final moments, Radford’s Bryan Antoine received the ball and dribbled into the corner where he put up a high arching shot. After the ball was released, Marshall’s Jacob Conner fouled the shooter.

Antoine made the shot and free throw to complete the four-point play with no time left on the clock to secure the win and thwart the Herd’s attempt at a comeback.

The Herd goes on the road to the Cayman Islands for the Cayman Islands Classic on Nov. 19 for their first contest on the island against Utah State.