Marshall senior guard Ronald Blackshear is a game-breaker. As he goes, so does the Thundering Herd (8-6, 4-2 MAC).
On Jan. 8 in Alumni Arena, Blackshear led all scorers with 22 points in Marshall's 69-63 victory over Buffalo (3-12, 0-6). UB's mission is to keep him from breaking the game wide open when the teams lock horns again Saturday night in Huntington, W.Va. at 7:30 p.m. (WWKB-AM 1520), something he's very good at doing at home.
"I think we have to try to limit Blackshear's ability to dominate the game," said UB head coach Reggie Witherspoon, whose team has lost nine in a row and remains the only winless team in the conference. "I thought that (last game) for a stretch he was really dominant. We have to make sure he doesn't get 30 points, or even 25 dominant points, dominant meaning a very close game and he scores whenever they need a basket."
Containing a player of Blackshear's caliber is difficult to do, but the problem is compounded by the fact that the Bulls have had some injuries. Sophomore guard Danny Gilbert has a sprained ankle and guard Turner Battle is still recovering from an illness. Senior Clement Smith is still out with a stress fracture in his back.
"Danny Gilbert's ankle is swollen up again, and we don't know when he's going to come back," said Witherspoon. "But he's a guy who's giving us 30 plus minutes a game on a team where 79 minutes are coming from freshmen and sophomores. Turner Battle is feeling better, but we still don't know if he'll be 100 percent."
"We're not sure who is going to play in Gilbert's absence. It'll probably mean more minutes for freshmen. It depends, maybe Jason Walcott can come on and give us a few good possessions, but we're going to use a number of different people until we get to someone who has established himself doing a pretty good job."
With so much focus on defense, coach Witherspoon knows it will take a total team effort to contain the Thundering Herd offense and Blackshear.
"We've got to try to limit his touches, and keep him from getting the ball inside his range which is so unlimited," said Witherspoon. "You've really got to make him work, if he catches the ball in a normal person's range, it's like a lay-up for him. We did a good job I thought the first ten minutes of the game. We limited the space he had to go one-on-one. Then we slacked off. As the game went on we weren't as disciplined with what we had to do. There's no room for error with a team as young as us."
Regardless of the Bulls' efforts, Blackshear will get his points, so it's up to the defense to make sure those points don't swing the game in Marshall's favor.
"At this level, players (like Blackshear) are not going to take too kindly to being caged," explained Witherspoon. "They're going to fight harder, they're going to work harder and we need to raise our effort level to match that. Great players get determined before they get frustrated. Our guys need to realize it has to be a full concentrated effort for 40 minutes."
With all this focused effort on defense, coach Witherspoon has not forgotten to address the team's offense woes, which have been magnified with conference play.
"We're in a constant search to score more points," said Witherspoon, who has suggested that each member of his squad take 25 unsupervised 3-pointers per day in their spare time following a dismal 5-23 performance from downtown in a loss to Ohio Tuesday. "I think we've got to score more points inside around the basket. We won't get it from Clement Smith (because of his injury) so we're going to have to get it from someone else."
The bottom line remains the same. A 40-minute effort at both ends of the court will give the Bulls a chance to stay in the game, hopefully with a chance to win it at the end. Despite their youth, coach Witherspoon doesn't expect Marshall to take Buffalo lightly.
"When you're playing the second game (of a home-and-home series) at home it's a little bit of an advantage," said Witherspoon. "Having said that you still have to go out and play. Marshall can't just roll in and let down or we'll beat them, and I think they know that."
