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Marshall upsets newly-ranked West Virginia

Jan 20, 2011 - 4:42 AM Charleston, WV (Sports Network) - Damier Pitts dropped in 25 points as Marshall shocked No. 21 West Virginia, 75-71, in the Chesapeake Energy Capital Classic at the Charleston Civic Center.

DeAndre Kane posted 18 points for the Thundering Herd (13-5), who bounced back from a 77-61 loss to Memphis on January 15.

Casey Mitchell had 18 points and John Flowers netted 16 as the Mountaineers (12-5) had a four-game win streak snapped, which included a 68-64 win over nationally-ranked Purdue on Sunday.

Joe Mazzulla had 10 points and eight rebounds in the loss, while Darryl Bryant also chipped in 10 points.

Down as much as 24 in the second half, the Mountaineers chipped away at their deficit.

Mitchell made three free throws to cap an 11-0 run and draw West Virginia within seven points at 53-46. But Marshall scored eight of the next 11 points and took a 12-point lead at 61-49 on Pitts' jumper at the 4:19 mark.

With just over two minutes remaining, Kevin Jones drained a three to make it a five-point game, but Tirrell Baines' monstrous dunk off a Pitts miss gave the momentum back to Marshall, 65-58.

Marshall kept its distance until Bryant went 3-for-3 from the free throw line with 30 ticks left to make it a three-point game, 72-69. The Herd were able to make three of their final four shots at the charity stripe, though, to preserve the win.

The Herd jumped to 8-3 lead early on in the game, but the Mountaineers went on a nine-point burst to claim a 12-8 lead after Deniz Kilicli slammed one home.

The teams remained tight over the next few minutes, until Marshall embarked on a 22-3 run to finish out the first half. The run was capped by Pitts' three- pointer as Marshall seized a 35-21 lead at the break.

Game Notes

West Virginia, which still holds a record of 28-11 in the all-time series against Marshall, is 56-20 all-time at the Charleston Civic Center and has a mark of 64-22 all-time in the city of Charleston overall...Pitts had five assists. He also made 10-of-11 from the charity stripe...WVU shot just 30.8 percent from the field during the first half and ended the game with a putrid 33.3 percent shooting performance...Baines had eight points and six rebounds in the win.