Jon Elmore (6'3''-G-95) hit six 3-pointers in the second half, including three in a row as part of a personal 11-0 run, leading Marshall to a 67-66 win in the final of the 2018 C-USA Men's Basketball Championship presented by Baylor Scott & White Sports Performance Center at The Star in Frisco. The fourth-seeded Thundering Herd (24-10) won their first C-USA title and will advance to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 1987. Elmore scored 20 of his 27 points after halftime, including the 11 in a row in a span of just over two minutes. He set a new C-USA Championship Final record with seven 3-pointers, six of which came in the second stanza. The Thundering Herd held on to end their 31-year NCAA drought after WKU scored the game's last 11 points before missing two shots in the final 20 seconds. Jannson Williams (6'8''-F) got the final rebound and managed to call timeout while falling to the court with 7.3 seconds left. Marshall had to inbound the ball twice but the Hilltoppers (24-10) never got the ball back. Ajdin Penava (6'9''-F-97) added 16 points and nine rebounds for Marshall, which went into the tournament as the No. 4 seed and took the next step after losing in the C-USA Championship Final last season. Justin Johnson (6'7''-F) led WKU with 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Josh Anderson (6'6''-SF-97) and Lamonte Bearden (6'3''-G-95) both had 13 points.
NOTES: Marshall senior guard Jon Elmore was named the C-USA Championship Most Valuable Player. In three Thundering Herd wins, he averaged 22.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists, while connecting on 14 3-pointers. The seven 3-pointers made by Jon Elmore are the most ever in a C-USA Championship final game. Old record was 6, set by Houston's Kelvin Lewis (6'5''-G-88, college: Houston) back in 2010. This marks the first conference tournament title for Marshall since winning the 1987 Southern Conference postseason crown. Marshall will be making the sixth NCAA Championship appearance in school history and its first since 1987. Marshall becomes the 11th different school to win the C-USA Championship title game in the league's 23 years. Tonight marked the fourth one-point game in C-USA Championship final history (2011 - Memphis 67, UTEP; 2005 - Louisville 75, Memphis 74; 1996 - Cincinnati 85, Marquette 84 (ot). Marshall became the fifth team in C-USA history to win the C-USA Championship after losing in the Final the previous season, but the first since 2006 (Memphis).
C-USA Tournament Final: Marshall - WKU 67-66 C-USA Tournament Semifinals: WKU - Old Dominion 57-49 Marshall - Southern Miss 85-75
Courtesy of ConferenceUSA.com
All-C-USA Awards 2018 - Mar 11, 2018
All-C-USA 1st Team 2018
Elmore
King
Caver
Cokley
Johnson
All-Tournament MVP: Jon Elmore (6'3''-G-95) of Marshall Player of the Year: Nick King (6'7''-F-95) of Middle Tenn.St. Defensive Player of the Year: Ajdin Penava (6'9''-F-97) of Marshall Freshman of the Year: Jhivvan Jackson (6'0''-G) of UTSA Newcomer of the Year: Nick King (6'7''-F-95) of Middle Tenn.St. Sixth Player of the Year: Deon Lyle (6'5''-G) of UTSA Coach of the Year: Steve Henson of UTSA
D'Antoni
