— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Georgia Southern turned Marshall’s Senior Night into a nightmare Friday night.
Having surpassed 100 points in an earlier victory over the Herd this season, the Eagles neared that number. This time around, Georgia Southern got 40 points in the paint and drilled 13 three-pointers, to handle the Herd, 99-82, at Cam Henderson Center.
The outcome created a six-way tie for second in the league. Troy, with its win Friday over UL Monroe mixed in with various other results, secured No. 1 in the league and thus the top seed in the league tournament next week in Pensacola, Fla.
“Disappointing,” Marshall coach Corny Jackson said. “We had everything in our favor. One of the most disappointing losses I’ve ever had.”
Despite the loss, Marshall (19-12, 11-7) is seeded No. 2 in the Sun Belt Tournament and earned a bye into a semifinal, which it will play Sunday, March 8.
Arkansas State, despite being part of a six-way tie for Marshall, begins play Thursday and will need to win five games in five days to win the event.
𝗕𝗘𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧.
The bracket is set for the 2026 @VisitPensacola Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship presented by @Join_AFReserve. ☀️🏀
📰 » https://t.co/9WMUNP2M30 pic.twitter.com/5tcfyGrwib
— Sun Belt (@SunBelt) February 28, 2026
Alden Applewhite drilled a three-pointer with 5:08 left to give the Eagles the lead for good at 75-73. From that point, the visitors outscored Marshall, 24-9.
Georgia Southern nailed half of its 26 three-point attempts. The Eagles recorded 12 in the first meeting between the two teams.
“If you want to beat them ,it can’t get in the 90s,” Jackson said. “Ones they lose, they’re in the 60s. They got 101 down there on us, 99 today. We couldn’t make enough plays to win. We had opportunities. Got to play better in games of this magnitude. They were the better team.
“We talked about it. Can’t give them points at the rim and threes. They got in the paint for points. In the second half, they flipped it.”
Tyren Moore paced the Eagles (16-15, 8-10) with 26 points and made 8 of 12 from behind the arc. Applewhite finished with 23 points, going 7 of 9 from the field and 9 of 12 at the foul line. Nakavieon White totaled 20 points, helped by 7-of-11 shooting. The Eagles also won the bench battle with 38 points to 17 for Marshall.
Wyatt Fricks paced Marshall with 25 along and eight rebounds. Noah Otshudi hit for 19, but was scoreless in the second half.
Herd freshman Landen Joseph added 12. Jalen Speer, the Herd’s No. 2 scorer, scored just seven points and was 1 of 7 from deep.
Thanks to making five of its final seven shots in the half, Marshall led at the break, 40-38.
Center Matt Van Komen was out again with an injured foot and in street clothes.
The Eagles are the No. 10 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament and will play Wednesday against the winner of No. 11 Old Dominion/No. 14 UL Monroe.