Marshall’s Full-Court Press Carries Mavericks to 88-66 Win Over John Tyler in Season Opener

TYLER -- Marshall boys basketball coach Bobby Carson was the first to point out his team's season-opening win over John Tyler on Tuesday may have been a bit misleading.

Marshall forced 36 turnovers en route to an 88-66 victory over a JT team that was playing without a handful of starters who won't be available until after football season.

"(John Tyler coach Cedeno Clark) doesn't have all of his guys right now, and we're basically full strength," Carson said. "JT was a little short-handed. Hopefully we get to see them again on down the road in the playoffs at full strength."

The Mavericks (1-0) employed the full-court press all night long and JT (0-1) had trouble figuring it out, turning the ball over several times underneath its own basket.

"It caused us problems," Clark said. "That's one of my concerns, us being able to handle pressure of that magnitude. We've just go to go back to the drawing board and figure out what we need to do to get it corrected."

Marshall converted those Lions turnovers into points in almost each instance, aiding the Mavs' big win.

"Since the season ended last year, we've been working on nothing but full-court press," Carson said. "That's going to be our bread and butter, five-in, five-out sub at least every two minutes trying to just wear people out. Tonight it worked."

Twelve different Marshall players found the scoring column, led by Chase Stoker's 19 points, which included three 3-pointers. Garen Jernigan added 11 points, while T.J. Maxfield chipped in with 10.

John Tyler was led by Keaunte Humber and Hennessey Lampkin, who each registered 15 points.

"The kids never quit; they never threw in the towel down 20-25 points," Clark said. "It's like I told them, the season's not dependent on the first game of the season. It's just the beginning of the season. We took it on the chin tonight, but we've got to move forward and put this one behind us."

Marshall took control of the game late in the first quarter, going on a 12-3 run to end the period with a 25-15 lead. The Mavs then scored the first 11 points of the second for a 34-15 lead and never looked back.

"Early we handled (Marshall's press) pretty good, but the game ended up getting away from us," Clark said. "We had too many turnovers and before you know it, we're down 10."

---

Marshall 88, John Tyler 66
At Lions Den, Tyler
Marshall 25 31 19 12 -- 88
John Tyler 15 15 18 18 -- 66
MARSHALL -- Chase Stoker, 19; Garen Jernigan, 11; T.J. Maxfield, 10; Gerad Williams, 8; Jay McKnight, 7; Chris Brown, 6; Jim Brown, 6; Tiandre Jackson, 6; Chris Williams, 5; Chris Johnson, 4; Justin Singleton, 4; Corliss White, 2.
JOHN TYLER -- Keaunte Humber, 15; Hennessey Lampkin, 15; Jacob Owens-Bush, 8; Jordan Caldwell, 7; J'Michael Jasper, 7; JaVonte Tramble, 6; William Vaughn, 4; Vernon Thomas, 3; Martese Christian, 1.
THREE-POINT GOALS -- M: Stoker (3), J. Brown (2), Jernigan, McKnight.
RECORDS -- Marshall 1-0; John Tyler 0-1.
NEXT UP -- John Tyler at Pleasant Grove, Saturday; Marshall at Lufkin Hudson, Friday.