Huntington Times

Herd Men Stave off Arkansas State Comeback in Overtime Road Win

 The Marshall University men's basketball team (17-4, 6-2 Sun Belt) survived a comeback by the Arkansas State Red Wolves (9-12, 1-7 Sun Belt) in an 87-78 road win Saturday afternoon in overtime.
 
The Herd went a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in overtime with nine points by Taevion Kinsey to extend the team's win streak to five.
 
"I told the team before the game, this team (Arkansas State) plays hard," Marshall men's basketball head coach Dan D'Antoni said after the win. "They're very similar to Texas State, except they're bigger and stronger. This was probably the most physical team we've played and they're better than their record shows."
 
After the Red Wolves forced overtime, Andrew Taylor drained one of his three makes from three-point range to open overtime for three of his game-high 27 points, tying his season-best mark from December 17 in a win over Toledo.
 
"It's nice to come away from this road trip 2-0. It's hard to do in any conference," Taylor said about taking the road contest.
 
Despite picking up a pair of early fouls and sitting out the final 16 minutes of the first half, Kinsey caught fire in the second half and overtime. The fifth-year senior drained four consecutive shots for Marshall after the Taylor triple.
 
Jacob Conner followed with a pair of makes from the free-throw line to conclude a 13-0 run during the first four minutes of the extra period. It put MU up 84-71 with the 13-point advantage being the team's largest in the contest. Conner also dominated the glass with a career-high 10 rebounds.
 
The Herd defense gave up just two makes to Arkansas State in overtime as the visitors hung on for the road win.
 
Kinsey finished with 23 points, all scored in the second half or overtime.
 
Kamdyn Curfman lit it up from behind the arc for fourth straight contest as he tallied 16 points on a 50 percent shooting day from the field (5-for-10), making four of his eight three-point attempts.
 
"Watching the team we have keeps me motivated," Kinsey said. "I loved the way that they played. I loved the way they carried us into halftime. In the second half, it was a hard-fought win."
 
Taylor helped the Herd steady the ship in the first half with Kinsey on the bench, scoring 14 of his 27 points in the first 20 minutes. 

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