With 15:50 remaining in the second half, Marshall's Jacob Conner nailed a layup to knot the game at 51 - the only field goal the Thundering Herd would have over the next ten minutes of action as Georgia Southern men's basketball sailed to an 87-73 win.
"This was a pleasing win. It was good to tighten the screws at half and come out strong in the next frame," head coach Charlie Henry said. "It was good to stretch it out and turn the ball over less than we did in the first half."
The Eagles (7-23, 7-10 Sun Belt) led in nearly every statistical category and pulled away from the Herd (12-18, 7-10) late to snatch their seventh conference win and tie three other teams in the Sun Belt standings.
The lead changed hands several times over the early minutes. The Herd stretched a lead to four, but the Eagles came right back, and Malik Tidwell's jumper followed by two free throws from Eugene Brown III put the Eagles up 29-22.
Marshall took a brief lead back with four minutes left. Tyren Moore hit a floater late in the half to go up three, which Marshall would respond to. The Eagles led 43-42 at the break.
Marshall went 0-for-5 from the line in the first half and the Eagles shot 59 percent from the field.
The lead once again went back and forth in the first few minutes. The Eagles gained separation with a little over 11 minutes left, and Avantae Parker slammed a beautiful reverse dunk to stretch the advantage to five.
The Herd never made it closer than five for the remainder of the game. Tidwell fought for a tough bucket to put the Eagles up 15, and Parker closed it out with another loud dunk to finish up 87-73.
Moore recorded his third-straight 20-point effort with 23, leading all scorers, and the first Eagle to have three-straight 20-point games since Quan Jackson in 2020.
Tidwell (18) scored a season-high, while Brown (13) and Parker (10) also reached the 10-point threshold. Collin Kuhl tied a career-high with eight boards.
"I was trying to get a feel for the game from the jump and got to spot up and shoot today," Tidwell said. "Whether it was getting to the rim, dishing the ball out to my teammates, I got to do everything tonight as opposed to just settling for the three-ball."
GS' 56.9 field goal percentage was its second-highest mark of the season.
Georgia Southern will wrap up the regular season with a date with Old Dominion on Friday.
