— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall’s main preseason goal is there for the taking.
Now it’s time for the Herd to act through on it.
Marshall welcomes Georgia Southern for a 9 p.m. matchup Friday, and a win would clinch a Herd at least a share of the Sun Belt Conference regular season championship.
The contest between the Herd and Eagles is airing on ESPN2.
Marshall (19-11, 11-6) is tied atop the Sun Belt with South Alabama, Appalachian State and Troy. All 14 teams are in league action tonight, and based on Sun Belt tiebreaker rules, a Herd win would ensure Marshall of a spot in a Sun Belt Tournament semifinal next week.
If Marshall, Appalachian State and Troy win and South Alabama loses, the Herd earn the No. 1 seed.
Marshall remained in the mix atop the Sun Belt by virtue of a 97-88 win over Old Dominion on Tuesday.
“If you play a really good defense, you don’t have to go and answer every single time,” Herd head coach Cornelius Jackson said. “You have to get stops. They were getting downhill on our main defense, so we went zone and they still got downhill a few times.
“We have to play better. We have to play with more focus, energy and toughness on Friday.”
The next night, Georgia Southern (15-15-, 7-10) suffered an 82-66 loss to James Madison, bringing their losing streak to three games.
Marshall will honor seniors Wilson Dubinsky, Wyatt Fricks, Noah Otshudi, Grant Moore, Kai Spears, Jalen Speer and Matt Van Komen during a pregame ceremony.
Speer leads a trio of Marshall double-figure scorers at 16 points per game, followed by Fricks at 15.3 and Otshudi at 14.3. Fricks tops active Herd rebounders at 5.6 per game as Komen continues to be sidelined with an ankle injury.
Georgia Southern sinks or swims based on the play of graduate guard Spudd Webb, who leads the squad with an average of 15.6 points.
UAB transfer guard Tyren Moore follows at 15, along with forward Aiden Applewhite, who averages 13 points and a team-best 5.9 rebounds.
GSU’s points scored and allowed are identical at 79.8 per game.
This marks the second meeting between Marshall and Georgia Southern as the Eagles defeated the Herd on Valentine’s Day, 101-87.
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The Marshall women’s basketball team is also in action Friday with a home game against the same opponent. The Herd welcome Georgia Southern for a 6 p.m. tipoff.
Marshall (23-7, 13-4) hasn’t played since a win last Saturday at Georgia State.
Georgia Southern (22-6, 15-2) is tied with Troy atop the Sun Belt. The Eagles handled Marshall 76-66 in Statesboro earlier this month.
Georgia Southern has already clinched a triple bye in the Sun Belt Tournament, while the Herd can finish anywhere from third to fifth in the conference. Marshall is tied with Arkansas State and James Madison.
Marshall will honor seniors Peyton Ilderton, Blessing King, Timaya Lewis-Eutsey, Meredith Maier, Arionna Redman, TreShondra Williams and head student manager Justin Bailey before the game.