Marshall Men’s Basketball Welcomes Elon For Home Opener

 By Ben Anderson

    Tonight, the Marshall Thundering Herd play host to the Elon Phoenix for the 2025-26 home opener. 

    The Thundering Herd has had the hot hand to start the season, opening up with a pair of road wins against UMass and Toledo. Redshirt senior Wyatt Fricks said that the start helps boost the team morale entering tonight. 

    “Getting two wins on the road to start the year, that’s big time.” Fricks said. “Last year we really struggled on the road.” “Getting two early, that really helps with that kind of team morale, that confidence that you can win on the road, you can overcome adversity.”

    The Herd trailed the Toledo Rockets 40-30 at halftime, before outscoring the Rockets 55-33 in the second half to pick up the 85-73 victory, something that stood out to head coach Cornelius “Corny” Jackson was the team’s effort in the second half. 

    “I was proud of our second-half effort,” Jackson said. “I thought we really executed the game plan. I thought we played tougher with more physicality in the second half then we did in the first half. The shots, they didn’t fall the first half, but that’s how we play. So, we have to be okay with the misses just as well as the makes in the second half.”

    The team stepped on the gas defensively in the second half, holding the Rockets to just 36% from the field after allowing 45% in the first half. 

    “One of the goals going into the game was to take away their transition, as best we could.” Jackson said. “I felt the first half they got out in transition. After watching the film, it was eight times they got in transition and either scored or got fouled or got an easy look. Second-half, we made a better conscious effort of getting back, making those guys score over us versus giving them easy stuff in transition.”

    Fricks said that he is pleased with the way that the team has gelled through the first two games of the season. 

    “It’s just being able to play together, having that chemistry on and off the court,” Fricks said. “We got depth, we’ve played with lineups throughout the summer. We’ve played with lineups through the preseason. Just being able to mesh guys, figuring out the roles is big time. The freshman Landon Joesph coming against Toledo sparking that really helped us in the first half kind of staying in it a little bit. Guys like that are just coming in, knowing their role, coming in, locked in, staying read, that sort of thing.” 

    The Elon Phoenix enter the contest at 2-0, coming off a 92-90 thrilling overtime victory against the UNC Greensboro Spartans in a game that the Phoenix connected on 11 triples in the contest. Jackson said that the Phoenix have an attack from all areas of the floor.  

    "They have shooters all over the floor,” Jackson said. Their bigs are good. They’re one forward. He plays a point forward. He’ll get the rebound, and he’ll start the break and spray it out to the shooter. They’re a good team, they’re physical, they’re experienced. Their guards are really quick.”

    Elon won the only previous matchup in the series, defeating the Herd in Elon, North Carolina last season 73-59. Elon through two games, allow an average of 70.5 points per game, on 43% shooting. Jackson said that the Phoenix are improved from a year ago.

    “They’re a whole different team,” Jackson said. “They still play their zone. But they played exclusively zone last year when they had Matt (Van Komen) especially when we went down there and played them. But they’re playing faster. They’re probably more athletic than they were last year.”

    The game will broadcast on WMUL-FM 88.1, and online on our website on steam 1 at marshall.edu/WMUL. FM88 Sports Ben Anderson & Rhys Owens will be on the call with pregame coverage at 6:30 p.m. and tip-off at 7:00 p.m.