BOONE, N.C. – With just 40 seconds to play in regulation and the App State men's basketball team trailing by three,
Kasen Jennings buried a step-back 3-pointer from the top of the key to tie the score at 92, which sent the home crowd into a brief frenzy. On the other end, Marshall's Landen Joseph calmly stepped into a pull-up jumper from the right elbow to send the Thundering Herd ahead by two with 12 seconds to go.
Looking to either tie the score or take the lead,
Jalen Tot raced into the lane and nearly missed an and-one chance, but stepped to the line for a pair of free throws to try and tie the game. Tot made the first one, but missed the second one, and Marshall grabbed the rebound and ran out the clock to clinch a crucial 94-93 win in Boone on Thursday. With the win, Marshall (18-10, 10-5 SBC) now stands in a tie for first place, and App State (18-11, 10-6 SBC) sits in third place.
The Mountaineers led by as many as 16 points in the first half and led by double-digits for much of the first half and into the second half. But Marshall started to creep back into the game after the first media timeout of the second half with a 16-7 run to cut a once 13-point App State lead into a four-point lead with 12:34 to play. Despite several attempts to pull away, App State couldn't shake the Herd's offense, and they eventually took the lead with 3:28 to play. Marshall outscored App State by 12 points in the second half.
How it Happened
App State scored five-straight points to open the contest and opened up a 7-2 lead a little less than two minutes into play. Marshall worked to tie the score at seven a few possessions later, but the Mountaineers and
Alonzo Dodd extended their lead back up to five with a 3-pointer at the 15:58 mark. The lead eventually grew to six after Dodd drilled his second 3-pointer of the early going to make the score 18-12.
Tot answered a Marshall 3-pointer with a three of his own before
Kasen Jennings muscled his way into the paint for a fast-break layup. Then,
Eren Banks and Dodd responded to a Wyatt Fricks layup by scoring four straight points, and App State led by seven with just over 11 minutes to play in the first half.
The Mountaineers maintained their distance from Marshall as play went on, but the Herd would cut their deficit down to four by the under-eight timeout. Now seeing a slim four-point lead, App State jumped out to a 12-0 run to go ahead by 16 with four minutes to play in the opening half. Banks and
Michael Marcus Jr. both played catalysts during this run as Banks tallied two threes and Marcus Jr. nailed four free throws.
Marshall finally ended the run with five straight points to cut App State's lead back down to 11, but the Mountaineers closed the half strong and took an 11-point lead into the halftime locker room. App State's offense was nearly unstoppable in the first half, as it shot 53 percent from the field and 44 percent from behind the arc.
App State responded to Marshall cutting its lead down to single digits by going back ahead by 12 thanks to three Tot free throws to open the half. Dodd and Jennings then tallied baskets, and all of a sudden, the Mountaineers led again by 13 points, which forced a Marshall timeout.
With momentum now on App State's side, Marshall went to work to turn a 13-point game into a four-point game in just five minutes of game time. Marshall held App State to just seven points during this stretch, while Jalen Speer accounted for nine points to will Marshall back into the game.
App State eventually saw its lead shrink down to two points after Speer nailed a jumper with 11:37 to play in the game. But App State had an answer and stormed back ahead by seven points after Jennings raced down the floor and converted a layup through contact with 9:54 to play. Marshall cut its deficit back down to two points after Joseph hit on a jumper, but Tot sent momentum back in favor of App State with a three, which sent the Mountaineers into the under-eight timeout with a five-point lead.
Luke Wilson's tip-in dunk soared the Mountaineers ahead by seven points once again with six minutes to play, but a 7-0 run by the Herd tied the score at 83 with five minutes to play. Marshall took its first lead of the second half after Shamarrie Hugie drilled a 3-pointer from the corner.
App State crawled back to within one point after Wilson netted a free throw and converted a dunk, but another clutch shot by Joseph sent Marshall back ahead by three with 69 seconds to play in regulation. Jennings sent the App State faithful into an uproar with a game-tying, step-back 3-pointer to tie the score at 92 with 40 seconds to play.
With the score tied again, Marshall again turned to Joseph, who calmly sank the go-ahead jumper from the right elbow to push Marshall to a two-point lead with 12 seconds to go in the game. Needing a score to force overtime or a 3-pointer to take the lead, Tot drove into the lane and was fouled, and looked to make two free throws to tie the score. But Tot made just one free throw, and Marshall collected the rebound and ran out the clock to secure a thrilling one-point win.
Top Performers
Both Tot and Dodd paced App State's offense on Thursday with a team-high 19 points apiece. Dodd fell three rebounds and three assists short of a triple-double, while Tot sank a team-best four 3-pointers. Jennings, who battled foul trouble for most of the game, still managed to score 17 points on 5-8 shooting. Wilson followed up his 18-point, 16-rebound double-double last Saturday with a 16-point game. 10 of his points came at the charity stripe.
Up Next
App State will wrap up its home schedule by playing host to the Georgia Southern Eagles at the Holmes Center on Saturday. Saturday's game is senior day, and the Mountaineers will honor their three seniors before the game. Fans are also encouraged to wear black as Saturday's game is a Black Out. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
