— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall men’s basketball is still smarting from a 104-78 drubbing at Virginia, and the Herd will look to recover in a return home.
Marshall (3-1) hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 4 p.m. Thursday from the Henderson Center. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
The Herd and Golden Lions were originally scheduled to play at 7 p.m., before tip time was moved up to avoid conflict with the Marshall men’s soccer team’s match against Cleveland State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Marshall head coach Cornelius Jackson is hopeful to see his team move forward from its first setback and build off what had been a strong start before that.
“We learned a lot and took several things from that game,” Jackson said. “One thing was the need to work in the weight room because they were really strong. We have to elevate what we do in the strength program. We also didn’t capitalize when we had opportunities, especially in the second half.”
Marshall may have found another major contributor in the loss as freshman Landen Joseph exploded for 22 points, going 8 of 11 with three three-pointers.
Four Marshall players are scoring in double figures after four games — Wyatt Fricks (17.8), Matt Van Komen (12.2), Noah Otshudi (11.8) and Jalen Speer (11). Van Komen is averaging a team-best eight rebounds.
UAPB played on Tuesday and lost at SMU, 106-60.
The Golden Lions (0-6) have played all games on the road so far. Arkansas-Pine Bluff has also dropped matchups at Washington, Portland, Loyola Marymount, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt.
The Golden Lions play their first 11 games away and don’t have a home contest until December 15.
UAPB is coached by Solomon Bozeman, who is in his eighth season at the Southwest Athletic Conference school. He has a 36-94 career coaching mark.
Three UAPB players average scoring in double figures — Quion Williams (14.8), Jaquan Scott (14.2) and Trevon Payton (11.7). Williams and Scott are also the Golden Lions’ top rebounders.
“They’ve been in the games,” Jackson said. “They have talent. Their top two players came from Oklahoma State and Mississippi State. We can’t look at their record. We have to be focused and ready to play at a high level.”
