HUNTINGTON, W. Va. — The Mocs and Marshall have played memorable games over the years including overtime contests in the Southern Conference tournament.
The revival of their rivalry on Saturday resulted in another memorable game.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga beat the Thundering Herd 69-68 in a game that played out like a SoCon tournament contest and ended with a referee making a big decision.
Tom Eades — who called the 2010 National Championship game between Duke and Butler — put his right hand behind his head to signify a charge on Marshall’s DeAndre Kane as his shot swished through at the final buzzer.
“I think I’ve got broken ribs because when we were celebrating, somebody on the team caught me square,” coach John Shulman said Sunday. “But I can still play. I can carry the play-sheet, so I’m OK.”
Shulman and the Mocs approached the second half, and especially the final minutes, as if it were a SoCon title game. They won, and their reward is Louisville tonight in the KFC Yum! Center.
“It’s a foreshadowing thing,” said guard Ricky Taylor, who had six points Saturday. “It’s like we won the SoCon last night and we’ve got Louisville next. It’s going to help us in the long run and for future reference.”
The Mocs (2-2) can look back at Saturday and even Wednesday’s win at Kennesaw State and know they’ve won close games.
“It hinged on one possession, it was a big game and the atmosphere was incredible,” Shulman said. “We could be 3-1. But we could also be 0-4.”
Late in the game, the Mocs slowed down their offensive attack and often ran the shot clock down to 15 seconds before looking to score. Senior center Jeremy Saffore benefited and contributed three finger-rolls in the final six minutes.
“There were a lot of similarities between last night and the tournament,” said Saffore, who has a ring from 2009. “Other games could down to stuff like that.”
Keegan Bell missed a 3-pointer that would have given UTC a four-point lead with 20 seconds to go. But Marshall grabbed the rebound, headed to the sideline and coach Tom Herrion called for time.
When the teams returned to the floor, Shulman called a timeout. Then another and still had one more to use if Marshall scored and left the Mocs with time on the clock.
“We wanted to see their sets, then we took Jeremy out, then we showed a 2-3 [zone defense],” Shulman said. “We did that to mess with their minds a bit, then we came back out and played our defense. Keegan made a big play.”
While the Mocs were playing, Louisville backed up its 15-point win over Butler with a 62-45 victory over Jackson State whom the Mocs will play Wednesday.
“I’m glad we got the victory, but we have a lot to improve on to beat Chattanooga,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said after Saturday’s win. “We will make adjustments for the next game. We have one day to prepare for Chattanooga, and they’re a team that plays excellent defense so we have to be ready for them.”