 "Photo: Sholten Singer")
Hassan Whiteside swatted a Tavarus Alston shot on one end, then finished with a three-point play on the other.
Rout on.
Whiteside sparked a 8-0 Marshall run midway through the second half that led to a 79-63 season-opening victory over North Carolina A&T in front of a crowd of 4,319 Sunday at the Cam Henderson Center.
“(Whiteside) brings excitement off the bench,” said sophomore guard Shaquille Johnson, who scored a game-high and tied a career high with 22 points. “When he comes into the game, he’s either blocking a shot or getting a rebound. And when he gets on offense, he’s either going to score, give it up to somebody for an assist or get a rebound.
“The crowd loves him.”
So do his teammates.
In just 14 minutes, the freshman tallied 10 points, blocked five shots and grabbed three boards.
“I love playing with him,” senior forward Tyler Wilkerson said.
The admiration for Whiteside stretched about as wide as the 7-footer’s wingspan following Sunday’s game. Even when senior guard Darryl Merthie tried to say something negative about him, he couldn’t help but smile.
“Sometimes we have to tell him to cool it because he tries to block everything,” Merthie said.
And when he didn’t block, he fouled. Four times. Counting last Tuesday’s exhibition against West Virginia Wesleyan, Whiteside now has committed nine fouls in just 24 minutes of action.
“I’d love to play him more,” said Marshall head coach Donnie Jones. “But I didn’t want him to have four fouls in the first half so I took him out. But he’s learning and growing. He stayed down on the ground a couple time tonight and changed shots so that’s progress for him.
“As you can see, he can really change a game defensively and get you going.”
His mere presence seemed to open things up for Wilkerson, especially on the glass. When a shot went up, most of the Aggie players turned their attention to clearing Whiteside from the boards.
Not his 6-foot-8 frontcourt mate.
Wilkerson took advantage by tearing down an eye-popping 20 rebounds.
“(Whiteside) and Tyler in there together, I really like that lineup,” Jones said. “And eventually, hopefully, we can grow toward that.”
For the time being, Jones can be satisfied with the play of his backcourt. Wilkerson and Whiteside are less of a threat without Johnson and Merthie.
The former set the Herd on its way in the first half by knocking down his first five shots.
“Mert(thie) just kept feeding me,” Johnson said humbly about his night. “All the guards.
Also, (Chris) Lutz (kept feeding me), Tyler kicked it out. They were just penetrating and getting it to the open man and I just happened to be the open person.”
The latter, as Johnson referenced to, was Marshall’s conductor. Merthie finished with 14 points, seven assists and nine rebounds.
“With me being here for many years, Coach Jones just put the ball in my hands and wanted me to run the team,” the fifth-year senior said. “And every day, I try to do that. In the games and in the practices.
“And the team’s been doing a good job following my lead.”
The keys to Jones’ offense have been handed to Merthie ever since the regular starting point guard Damier Pitts went out with a concussion in late October.
He’s responded in a big way.
“My mindset at the beginning of the year was not to play Darryl at the point,” Jones said. “Because I wanted him to get off the ball and have freedom offensively and not make him think.
“But I’m really proud of him tonight. He was the unsung hero.”
Merthie and company will play again Tuesday against Middle Tennessee State in game No. 2 of the Global Sports Invitational. Tipoff from the Cam is set for 7 p.m.
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Other game notes: Wilkerson’s 20 boards are the most by a Herd player in game since Rodney Holden pulled down 20 against The Citadel on Jan. 18, 1986. He also scored eight points ... After hitting six of 19 threes in the first half, North Carolina A&T was held to just one of 11 from downtown in the second half ... Lutz, regarded as Marshall’s best pure shooter, finished with three points on one of 10 shooting from the field ... The Aggies pressed all 40 minutes, yet the Herd yielded only 11 turnovers ... Jones said Pitts will remain out of the lineup for Tuesday’s game, but may return for Saturday’s contest at Old Dominion.
Andrew Ramspacher can be contacted at ramspacher@marshall.edu
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