Free throws costly for Herd

Was it aggressive defense or whistle-happy referees?

It seemed to be either one or the other after the Thundering Herd lost to Bowling Green 88-83 Saturday night in front of a season-high Senior Night crowd of 7,015 at the Cam Henderson Center.

The loss dropped Marshall to 19-8 overall and 11-7 in the Mid-American Conference, while Bowling Green improved to 22-6 overall and 14-4 in the league.

The Thundering Herd took a 67-65 lead on a Tamar Slay 3-pointer with 6:40 left, but the Falcons rallied behind six unanswered points to take the lead for good. Bowling Green extended the lead to 81-72, its biggest of the night, with 1:48 to play.

Marshall drilled three 3-pointers in the final 1:37 and center J.R. VanHoose sank two free throws to cut the lead to 85-83.

But the Falcons replied by hitting three free throws of their own to seal the victory.

Marshall outrebounded Bowling Green 42-31, but the lack of foul shots by the team proved to be the difference. Bowling Green shot 43 free throws, while the Thundering Herd had only 13 attempts at the charity stripe.

The Thundering Herd was led by sophomores Slay (24 points) and VanHoose (21 points and 11 rebounds).

Bowling Green was led by fifth-year seniors Dave Esterkamp and Anthony Stacy, who scored 25 and 24 points, respectively.

"Stacy and Esterkamp were the difference in the game," Slay said.

"Those guys made the big plays and we didn't stop them."

The loss marked only the second time Marshall has been defeated this season at home, suffering its other home court loss to to Miami in January.

"It was a tough loss especially with it being senior night," Thundering Herd Coach Greg White said. "They have a very strong program and they have a very veteran bunch of players."

Marshall showed its lack of veterans, as the team struggled to get back on transition defense and proceeded to give up several easy baskets.

"I was very disappointed in our transition defense," White said. "We didn't get back on numerous occasions and they took advantage of that."

The free throw situation didn't make things any easier for the Thundering Herd.

White said, "43 free throws against 13 speaks for itself. I didn't know we were last physical of a team to give them 43 free throws but I guess we are.

"I don't care how good you are, it's pretty much impossible to overcome such a discrepancy from the foul line."

VanHoose felt the missed shots were the turning point for Bowling Green.

"We played pretty good, but we just didn't make our shots," VanHoose said.

"I think if we can play hard on both the offensive and defensive end there is nobody that can beat us."

Marshall , the No. 5 seed in the MAC tournament, returns to action at 7 p.m. Wednesday as it plays host to No. 12 seed Buffalo in the opening round of the tournament.

The Thundering Herd defeated Buffalo (5-22, 3-15), 91-63 and 88-72 in the regular season.