Marshall beats Southern Miss 85-66 in Conference USA opener (Dec 28, 2017)

By AP
Published

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) Rondale Watson scored 20 points, Ajdin Penava added 18 with 15 rebounds, four assists and four blocks, and Marshall beat Southern Miss 85-66 in Thursday night's Conference USA opener for both teams.

Jon Elmore scored 13 points with 11 assists and eight rebounds, Jarrod West added 15 points with four 3-pointers, and Marshall (10-4) made 10 3s to the Golden Eagles' three and won the rebound battle 47-26.

Penava, who scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the first half, tied it at 11 with a layup and sparked a 10-4 run which Marshall rode to a 35-25 halftime lead. Elmore's back-to-back layups amid an 11-4 run put Marshall up 53-34 with 12:18 left to play and the Thundering Herd led by as many as 24.

Marshall, which has won nine straight home games, was without its second-leading scorer, C.J. Burks, who was out due to illness.

Tyree Griffin scored 19 points and Cortez Edwards added 18 for Southern Miss (7-7), which has lost three straight.