Huntington, WV (SportsNetwork.com) - Ryan Taylor and Cheikh Sane tallied 16 points and six boards apiece as the Marshall Thundering Herd defeated the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, 74-55, in a non-conference season opening matchup at the Cam Henderson Center.

Austin Loop netted 14 points for the Thundering Herd (1-0). Sane knocked down all seven of his attempts from the floor in 23 minutes of action.

Avery Moore came off the bench to pace JSU (0-1) with 18 points in 17 minutes. JaQuail Townser chipped in 11 points, while D.J. Felder grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.

Marshall hit on 48.3 percent of its field goal tries in the opening 20 minutes of the contest en route to a 35-24 lead at the intermission. The Gamecocks were limited to a 33.3 percent clip from the floor in the first half.

The Thundering Herd extended their lead to as many as 25 in the second period, before the visitors used a 16-8 run to narrow the deficit before the final buzzer.

Despite the loss, JSU finished with a 35-34 edge in the rebounding battle. Marshall assisted 19 of its 28 makes from the floor.