| Whiteside Triple-Double First At Marshall, Leads Blowout Of Brescia, 105-54 |
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| Written by Woody Woodrum | |||||
| Wednesday, 16 December 2009 23:21 | |||||
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By Woody Woodrum,
Herd Insider Senior Editor --
HUNTINGTON - In a storied history, Marshall University basketball has produced some all-time moments and players. In the 1950s, Charlie Slack set an NCAA record for rebounds per game that still stands over 55 years later. Keith Veney hit a NCAA record 15 threes in a game in the 1990s while Hal Greer left Marshall to become one of the 50 best players in the NBA's first 50 years as a league.
On Wednesday night, 7-foot freshman center Hassan Whiteside did something no other Marshall player has ever put into the record book, recording a triple-double of points, rebounds and blocked shots in leading the Thundering Herd to a 105-54 rout of Brescia University from the NAIA ranks.
Marshall improved to 8-1 on the season, best start since the 2000-01 season, which is also the last time Marshall won six in a row, and improved to 6-0 in the Cam Henderson Center.
Whiteside scored a game high 17 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and broke the school record he held with two former Marshall players for most blocks in a game with 11.
 Hassan Whiteside pulled off an amazing 11 blocks against Brescia, including this one of 6-6 Anthony Ingram in the first half Wednesday evening. photo by Greg Perry/HI staff
Whiteside previously held the mark of nine blocks, coming in the championship of the Global Sports International tournament back on Nov. 28, with two other players. Latece Williams blocked nine against the University of Charleston on Nov. 17, 2000.
Omar Roland also blocked nine in a Southern Conference game against UT-Chattanooga on Jan. 13, 1990. Whiteside also ties the Conference USA record for most blocks in a game when Gerrick Morris of former C-USA member USF blocked 11 versus George Washington on Nov. 28, 2000.
The Gastonia N.C. native’s triple-double is the 10th in the history of Conference USA and the 7-0 freshman joins Kenyon Martin (twice with the University of Cincinnati) who turned in the feat with double digit blocks. Marshall also reset the school record for most blocks in a game as the Herd charted 17. The old mark of 13 was set earlier this year against Ohio U., tying the mark set in the Williams' nine-block game against the UC Golden Eagles in 2000.
“ My teammates and I were playing good defense,” Whiteside said. “Our guards did a good job of pressing them and forcing them to come down the lane. We did well tonight and made a statement that people need to respect the Herd.”
The freshman center now has 47 blocks in his career of nine games. That makes him 16th all-time at MU in career blocks, passing Michael Peck who had 46 from 1991-95.
Up next is Tamar Slay at No. 15 with 53 career blocks. 47 blocks is also seventh best in a single season at Marshall, with Williams (2000-01) at No. 6 with 48 blocks up next. Tom Curry (1987-88) and Williams are tied at fourth in season blocks with 53.
Whiteside is now leading the nation and C-USA with 5.2 blocks per game.
Whiteside was 1-of-7 Marshall players to score in double figures.
 Damier Pitts got the and-one with this basket and foul over Brescia's Anthony Ingram in the first half. photo by Greg Perry/HI staff
Sophomore wing Cam Miller had his best night in a Herd uniform, as the former transfer from Western Carolina went 6-for-6 from the field and 4-of-4 from three-point range to score 16 points. Miller added three rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block to the party.
Sophomore guard Shaquille Johnson scored 13. Junior college transfer Antonio Haymon had 12 points and three blocks, his best night at Marshall, hitting 5-of-7 shots and had three rebounds.
Sophomore point guard Damier Pitts scored 11 points while seniors Chris Lutz and Tyler Wilkerson each had 10 points, and Wilkerson also added a block for 84 in his career at Marshall. He needs six points to reach 700 career points.
Brescia led by two, 16-14, with 13:35 to play in the first half. A Herd 21-0 run over the next five and one-half minutes game MU a 35-19 lead and the green and white took over the game from there.
Marshall shot a seasons best as a team in all aspects: 61.5 percent from the field (40-of-65); 55.6 percent from three (10-of-18); and 15-16 from the free throw line, a sterling 93.8 percent.
The Herd's defense held a Bearcat team averaging 77 points a game to a season low of 54 points. Brescia, a member of the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, shot only 25.6 percent from the floor (20-of-78), and only 29 percent from three, hitting nine of 31 attempts. BU came in shooting 44 percent for the season and 37 percent from three.
“I am happy for the victory coming off finals,” said Marshall head coach Donnie Jones. Marshall completed final exams on Tuesday.
“I always worry as a coach how the team is mentally during finals. Brescia came out and played pretty well. We don’t want to take anything away from them, they played hard.
"I was worried about the mental edge starting the game but I thought we picked it up throughout the game."
 Brescia's Aaron Tandy was no match for Hassan Whiteside Wednesday evening. Whiteside recorded the first triple-double in Marshall history during the 105-54 win. photo by Greg Perry/HI staff
One area Jones could have his team work more on was boxing out, as Brescia out-rebounded the Herd 44 to 42. But 58 missed shots gave the Bearcats many chances for offensive rebounds in the game.
"We gave up 28 offensive rebounds which I am not happy about, but they missed 58 shots so that created those opportunities, however, we have to rebound the ball better," said Jones.
He also pointed out the Herd was without two players in the game, in sophomores Dago Pena and Nigel Spikes. Both were out with ankle sprains.
"Our bench played well and I was pleased we were able to get guys like Cam Miller and Antonio Hayman plenty of minutes," said Jones. "It’s a good opportunity for our young guys and our bench to play tonight. The most important thing is people talk about scheduling. These are (lower division) teams (in Salem Internation and Brescia), but it gives you a chance to play people on your bench.
"I think our bench is much better. There are some guys out there that could be starters. Hassan and Antonio, people like that, could be in the starting line-up, but they play starters minutes. But right now we are trying to play to our level and not the level of our opponent. That is what we stress everyday."
The Herd bench contributed 57 points in the win, and Marshall dominated the points in the paint by 58-to-14 over Brescia.
The Bearcats were led by Anthony Ingram, an NAIA honorable mention All-American last year, and Andrea Sharp with 14 points each. Bryce Garrett came off the bench to hit 4-of-7, including 3-for-3 from three, for 11 points. Ingram also led Brescia with seven rebounds
"We try to play to our level, get better, and build on what we do. We have guys who love to play," said Jones. "As a coach, it is fun to coach because they love to play. Sometimes they don’t play to the level they should, but they just love to play.”
Marshall dished 20 assists in the game, with senior Darryl Merthie leading the way with eight, just two short of a career-best. Lutz continued to shoot better from three, hitting 2-of-3 tonight and 8-of-14 in his last three games behind the arc.
Marshall hosts High Point on Sunday as part of a doubleheader with the Thundering Herd women’s program. The men’s game gets underway at 2 p.m. with the women’s matchup against UT-Martin is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. Both games can be heard on SuperTalk 94.1 FM and AM 930.
“We have to concentrate on our next game,” Lutz said. “High Point (4-4) is going to be a tough match up for us. We have to come out focused and ready.”
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| Last Updated on Monday, 21 December 2009 11:07 |