Published: December 27, 2006 11:33 pm         

Lions roar with offensive onslaught

TERRE HAUTE — One can easily understand if Riverton Parke was under the impression they were seeing double in their first-round game of the Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic in Terre Haute South’s gym late Wednesday afternoon.

After all, Marshall’s talented tandem of twins, Logan and Lucas Eitel, scored 16 points apiece to help vault the Lions to a crushing 81-43 victory over Riverton Parke.

It seemed like this game was almost over before it began as Marshall surged to a sudden 8-0 lead after just 75 seconds had elapsed. The Lions scored the game’s first 12 points, then went on a 28-7 run starting late in the first quarter to assume a commanding 45-14 lead at intermission.

Marshall played the entire game at fever pitch, racking up points at a breakneck pace. So fast were their points being scored, Marshall’s 35 field goals set a WV Classic record surpassing the old mark of 34 set by four different teams.

“We kind of stepped up the intensity, a little bit more energy on the floor, here in the last four or five games … and that’s been working for us,” understated Marshall coach Tom Brannan. “The last couple of games we’ve really stepped it up.

“It’s worked. We’ve got guys willing to sacrifice, get on the floor for loose balls, run across the floor for a double team. It’s kind of fun to coach … it’s fun to watch.”

“We couldn’t handle their pressure,” stated a frustrated RP coach Michael Menser. “We worked on it all week leading up to this [game] … it’s just hard to simulate the quickness that Marshall possesses in their run and jump defense.

“They have four really good pressurers and they convert that into points. Obviously, that’s what we saw in the first three quarters. The way they push it on the rim and then kick out. The rest of them can hit shots on the kick out. It’s make it a tough matchup problem.”

In the second quarter, Marshall scored on their first five possessions (a 12-2 run), then closed out the first half scoring on its final six possessions (a 13-2 run).

The second half was much the same, Marshall scored on its first five possessions. Their biggest lead was 47-points at 63-16 late in the third quarter.

Marshall pulled its starters with 3:06 left in the third quarter, then put four more players with 4:35 to go in the game. In all, the Lions played 14 players, 12 of them breaking into the scoring column.

“How we’ve stepped up the last three or four games is probably because of their progression,” Brannan noted of his two Eitels. “They’re just sophomores. They’re becoming more confident with the ball. They do a lot of things well, they play good defense, they rebound the ball, they’re good playmakers.”