Marshall Boys’ Winning Streak Hits 20 Games Thanks To Late Run Against Longview

MARSHALL -- It was hard to see the difference between the 19-win team and the nine-win team for more than three quarters Friday at Marshall High School.

A shorthanded Longview team gave the Mavericks all they wanted before hitting a turnover skid and meeting a 54-41 Marshall victory in District 15-5A competition.

"I'll tell you what, Longview was playing with guys out and hustled and scrapped and fought," Mavericks head coach Bobby Carson said. "I can't say enough. When you lose your shooter and you lose your point guard -- They're struggling. And you couldn't tell. They really worked hard. (Billy) Goffney does a great job with them."

As it is, Marshall (20-0, 3-0) continued its phenomenal run. This time without eye-popping numbers from 6-foot-5 senior post Tiandre Jackson-Young.

Jackson-Young consistently hit between 30 and 40 points per game in recent contests.

Sophomore point guard Corteze Hurd led the team with 20 points instead. Senior shooting guard Trel Patton added 14 tallies. Jackson-Young scored also scored 14 points with 12 coming in the second half due to early foul trouble.

The Lobos (9-12, 1-2) trailed 28-26 at halftime after an 18-18 first quarter.

Jackson-Young became available once again to start the third quarter. He nailed a 3-pointer on Marshall's fourth possession of the frame, got a rebound on the other end then drove in for a layup and a 35-30 lead at the 3:56 mark.

"Tiandre was able to get back in and do his little Tiandre thing," Carson said. "He got some baskets to keep us going. But it was really a team effort. I liked that. I'm real uncomfortable with having someone get 35 points for us to win consistently. We're going to see more and more teams do what everybody else has done. Front him and back him and make somebody else beat you."

It was only a 37-34 Mavericks lead at the end of the third though.

The Lobos blinked.

Longview committed five turnovers through the first four minutes of the fourth period. It ended a 75-second, 8-0 Marshall run with Jaiden Smith's bucket at the 3:18 mark to make it a 48-38 game.

Smith and company intentionally picked up five fouls during the next 30 seconds to give Marshall a bonus advantage and hoped for missed free throws. The Mavericks shot 3-of-6 down the stretch from the line while Longview shot 1-for-5 from the field.

Hurd hit his seventh successful field goal of the game during the stretch. His first three made shots came from behind the arc.

Smith's 16 points led Longview. Eric Cavness, a forward off the bench, finished second on the team's scoresheet with 12 points.

Marshall hosts Greenville on Tuesday. Longview's bounce back attempt will come Tuesday at Lobo Coliseum against Texas High.

"We don't really talk about this winning streak because they're all behind us," Carson said. "The 3-0 is more important than the 20-0. We've got some really, really good teams in our district. Longview is good and lost at Greenville. Hallsville is playing people really close. It's nice and, right now, we can reflect on it. But tomorrow morning we've got to start thinking about Greenville."

Marshall 54, Longview 41

District 15-5A
At Marshall High School, Marshall

Longview       18     8     8    7    --    41
Marshall         18    10    9   17    --   54
LONGVIEW (9-12, 0-2) -- Jaiden Smith 16, Eric Cavness 12, Jaylin Brown 8, Jason Bush 3, Martavian Reed 2.
MARSHALL (20-0, 3-0) -- Corteze Hurd 20, Tiandre Jackson Young 14, Trel Patton 14, Kris Dunn 4, Gregory Worth 2, Branden Andrews 1.
THREE-POINT GOALS -- Longview: None. Marshall: Hurd (3), Patton (2), Jackson-Young.