Box Score

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -Ronald Blackshear scored 30 points to lead Marshall to an 83-75 victory over Eastern Michigan in first round Mid-American Conference Tournament action Monday.

Blackshear connected on 7-of-16 shots from the floor, including four of eight three-point attempts, to give the Thundering Herd its fourth consecutive trip to Cleveland's Gund Arena for the MAC Tournament's second round and a date with #2 seeded Kent State.

Marshall (14-14) also recieved a strong 18-point, five-rebound effort from senior guard Monty Wright. David Anderson also pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to go with 11 points in the winning effort.

Eastern Michigan (14-14) battled Marshall most of the way and finished the game with a 48-38 advantage in the rebounding department. The Eagles, however, struggled at the free throw line, managing to hit only 10 of 21 free throw attempts. EMU also turned the ball over 14 times and shot only 19.2% from three-point range.

Marshall, despite being out-scored in the paint 44-34, shot 44.8% from the field and out-scored the Eagles 48-38 in the second half. The Herd also made the most of its trips to the charity stripe, converting on 26 of 33 free-throw attempts.

EMU was led by Steve Pettyjohn's 16 points and eight rebounds. Beckley native Michael Ross recorded a game-high 11 assists for the Eagles.

The game marked the debut of sophomore Serge Babo. The six-foot-nine, 270-pound center grabbed two rebounds in eight minutes of play, and along with freshman LaVar Carter provided a spark for the Thundering Herd, that helped Marshall over come an early nine point deficit.

Marshall now moves on to Gund Arena to take on defending MAC Champion and #2 seeded Kent State University. The contest is set for noon on Thursday. Kent State and Marshall split a pair of contest during the regular season.

Tickets for the second round of the MAC Tournament are now on sale in the Marshall University Ticket Office and can be purchased by calling 1-800-THE-HERD.