MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Will Coleman had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Charles Carmouche added 16 points as Memphis defeated Marshall 77-61 on Saturday.
Will Barton added 15 points for Memphis (13-4, 2-1 Conference USA), and Tarik Black finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.
DeAndre Kane led Marshall (12-5, 1-2) with 16 points, while Tirrell Baines added 15 points and nine rebounds. Damier Pitts scored 14 for the Thundering Herd, but was 4 of 16 from the field, part of Marshall shooting 37 percent (20 of 54) in the game.
Memphis dressed only 11 players after junior forward Wesley Witherspoon was suspended indefinitely for disciplinary reasons earlier this week. Additionally, walk-on Trey Draper was in street clothes after a traffic accident.
Memphis relied on its inside game with Coleman and Black to shoot a high percentage. From the start, the Tigers pushed the ball into the post, helping Coleman shoot 8 of 11 for the game.
Memphis used 20 unanswered points in the middle stages of the first half to take a 45-28 lead into the break. Coleman and Will Barton had 11 points apiece for the Tigers.
Kane led the Thundering Herd with 10 points in the half.
The teams were tied at 15 after Dago Pena's 3-pointer with 11:51 left.
Marshall wouldn't score again until Baines' tip-in at the 5:33 mark.
The scoreless stretch led to Marshall shooting 27 percent (7 of 26) in the half, with only three of its seven field goals coming inside the arc.
Meanwhile, Memphis was shooting 63 percent ( 17 of 27) in the half.
Marshall made a move in the early stages of the second half and cut the Tiger lead to 10 (51-41) when Pitts converted a three-point play.
Memphis answered with a mini run to create some distance, and Marshall could get no closer than 13 the rest of the way.
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