Eian Elmer scored 12 of his team-high 18 points in the first half and grabbed nine rebounds, while Peter Suder added 17 points and seven rebounds to keep No. 23 Miami (Ohio) unbeaten with a 90-74 road win over Marshall on Saturday afternoon in Huntington, West Virginia.
Antwone Wilfork added 15 points and seven rebounds for Miami (24-0), which led wire-to-wire. Miami and No. 1 Arizona remain the only two Division I unbeaten men’s basketball in the country.
Noah Otshudi had a game-high 23 points, while Wyatt Fricks added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Marshall (15-9).
While the game was scheduled as part of the Mid-American /Sun Belt Conference challenge, the two schools were longtime rivals in the MAC, with the RedHawks extending their lead in the all-time series 49-29.
Marshall was playing without one of its key players for a second straight game, as injured 7-foot-4 Matt Van Komen sat on the bench in street clothes. Van Komen ranks sixth in the country with 58 blocks this season.
Miami took advantage early, racing out to a 9-2 lead. Leading 22-16, Miami erupted for a 19-1 run, highlighted by a four-point play from Almar Atlason in a 13-0 spurt. Elmer was also big early for Miami, draining all four of his 3-point attempts for 12 first-half points.
Marshall missed nine of its first 10 from beyond the arc and opened the game ice-cold from the field. After making six of their first 11, the Herd missed 17 straight shots, including six 3-point attempts. Marshall finished the first half just 10-of-33 from the floor.
Trailing 41-17, Marshall did cut into Miami’s lead before the break, outscoring the RedHawks 14-8 to trim Miami’s lead to 49-31 at the half.
Miami scored the opening basket of the second half to restore the 20-point lead, and Miami led 56-36 before Marshall made a charge to cut the RedHawks lead down to 59-49. But Marshall point guard Jalen Speer picked up his fourth personal foul with 11:41 left in the second half and had to go to the bench, and Miami answered with six straight points.
Marshall cut the deficit to single digits twice in the final 10 minutes but could only get as close as 67-58 on an Otshudi layup with 7:46 remaining.
–Field Level Media
