GAME NOTES: The Marshall Thundering Herd will try to snap a five-game losing streak on Saturday night when they host the Charlotte 49ers in a Conference USA matchup at the Henderson Center.

Charlotte enters the game on a four-game losing streak, which includes two losses in conference, the most recent being a 74-66 defeat on Thursday at Western Kentucky. The recent defeats have dropped the 49ers record to 0-2 in C-USA play, and 6-8 overall.

The Thundering Herd started the season 3-0, but have won just once in their last 11 contests. Their most recent game was a 72-51 beatdown by the Old Dominion Monarchs on Thursday. Marshall is now 0-2 in conference and 4-11 overall.

This marks just the third time these teams will have met on the hardwood. In February of 2014, the 49ers lost at home to the Thundering Herd, 59-56, but rebounded with a 74-70 win at Marshall in March of that same season.

After shooting an impressive 51.7 percent from the field in the first half against Western Kentucky on Thursday, the 49ers knocked down just 33.3 percent of their shots in the closing 20 minutes, and fell by eight points to the Hilltoppers. Torin Dorn (26 points, 10 rebounds) and Mike Thorne Jr. (12 points, 10 rebounds) each finished with a double-double for Charlotte in the defeat. Braxton Ogbueze also contributed with eight points and seven boards. Although the 49ers significantly outscored the Hilltoppers in the paint (34-16), they lost the turnover battle by a large margin (15-4).

Dorn (12.4 ppg), Ogbueze (11.6 ppg), and Pierria Henry (10.3 ppg) are the leading scorers this season for Charlotte. Thorne Jr. has led the 49ers this season in rebounding with 7.4 rpg, the fourth-best average in Conference USA. Offensively, Charlotte is averaging 73.4 ppg (third in C-USA) and shooting 44.8 percent from the field (fourth in C-USA). However, Charlotte is last in C-USA for free-throw percentage (.617). At the defensive end, the 49ers are currently allowing the most points per game in the conference (74.3 ppg), and are near the bottom in field goal percent defense (.441).

Marshall made just 31 percent of its field goal attempts in the opening half, and allowed the Monarchs to connect on 48.3 percent of their total shots. Marshall's top contributors in the defeat were Austin Loop (15 points) and Jay Johnson (13 points). Ryan Taylor also scored 13 points but turned the ball over eight times. Taylor's eight giveaways were part of 22 total turnovers for the Thundering Herd, which led to 18 points for Old Dominion. The Monarchs also bullied Marshall down low, outscoring the Herd in the paint, 30-6.

Taylor (14.1 ppg), Shawn Smith (12 ppg), and Loop (10.6 ppg) lead the Herd in scoring. Taylor is also the team's leading rebounder (8.1 rpg) and currently averages the second-most boards per game in C-USA. Marshall sits last in the conference for field goal percentage (.386), which includes a .303 percentage from 3-point range. The Herd are allowing opponents to score 71 ppg and they head the conference in turnovers with 248. Marshall is also currently in the red in rebounding margin (-2.5).

Neither of these teams is playing particularly well at the moment, as they are both struggling on defense and turning the ball over at an alarming rate. Charlotte's offense could be the difference in a game between two teams desperate for a victory.