Postgame radio interview with
Brian Burg
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. – Andrew Taylor scored 28 points and hit the game winner with 14.4 seconds remaining to lift Marshall to an 84-83 Sun Belt men's basketball win over Georgia Southern Thursday night in the Cam Henderson Center.
The Eagles got the ball to
Andrei Savrasov on the final possession of the game, but the redshirt senior lost it in traffic.
Georgia Southern was forced to finish the game with five scholarship players, including three freshmen. The Eagles were without
Kaden Archie, who was out with an illness, and
Tai Strickland left the game with an injury midway through the second half.
Jalen Finch (7:18),
Kamari Brown (1:27),
Tyren Moore (1:11) and
Carlos Curry (36.0) all fouled out in the second half.
Eagles of the Game
Savrasov finished with 20 points and six rebounds, and Moore scored 16 points. Strickland finished with 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting, and Finch tallied eight points, three rebounds and three assists.
Key Moments
The Eagles (14-14, 7-8) led 79-68 with 1:36 to play following a pair of Brown free throws but turned the ball over five times in the final 1:18 of the game, including four times after Brown and Moore fouled out. Marshall scored 10 points in 42 seconds, and Kamdyn Curfman's triple cut the margin to 79-78 with 45.4 seconds left.
Nate Brafford beat the press with a long inbounds pass to
Amar Augillard, who made a fastbreak layup with 44.3 seconds to go. The teams traded a pair of free throws with Augillard's two giving the Eagles an 83-80 lead with 33.7 left. Taevion Kinsey, who finished the game with 25 points, scored on a running layup with 28.2 seconds to go to trim the margin to one point. GS turned it over against the press, setting up Taylor's game winner.
After trailing by nine points early in the first half,
Derrick Harris Jr. and Savrasov hit triples in a 19-3 run that opened a 30-23 Eagle lead with 3:22 left in the period. After Marshall (22-6, 11-4) trimmed the margin to 71-65 late in the game, Savrasov, Harris Jr. and Moore all scored in a 6-1 spurt that pushed the advantage to 11 points with 1:48 remaining.
Stats and Notes
- The Eagles fell to 0-7 all-time at Marshall.
- A combined 51 fouls were called in the contest, and the teams combined to shoot 72 free throws. Marshall held a 26-25 edge on made free throws.
- GS held the Thundering Herd to 35 percent shooting in the first half, including 1 for 10 from 3-point range.
- Marshall got its first offensive rebound of the game on a tip-in with 8:27 remaining.
- The Eagles outrebounded the Thundering Herd 40-30.
- Freshmen Harris Jr., Brafford and Augillard came into the game averaging a combined 24.4 minutes played per game.
Next up
The Eagles travel to Southern Miss Saturday for their final road contest of the regular season. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. ET., and the game will air live on ESPN+ and the GS Sports Network. GS caps the season with home games vs. Coastal Carolina (Feb. 22) and Appalachian State (Feb. 24) next week.
