GAME NOTES: The Marshall Thundering Herd continue to search for their first Conference USA win of the season, as they host the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners at the Cam Henderson Center on Thursday night.

The Roadrunners fell to .500 on the season and 2-3 in conference by dropping a 73-55 decision at home to UTEP last Saturday. UTSA has won its last two true road tests, both of which were against C-USA foes. Coach Brooks Thompson's squad is ranked fourth in the league in scoring offense at 71.6 ppg, but is next-to-last in the 14-team league in scoring defense (71.4 ppg). UTSA also logs 8.0 steals per game to rank second in C-USA.

Marshall suffered its eighth consecutive setback last Saturday when it fell to Florida Atlantic on the road, 76-62. The loss lowered coach Dan D'Antoni's team to 4-14 overall, which includes an 0-5 mark in C-USA play. The Thundering Herd have defeated only two Division I opponents this season. They are ranked near the bottom of C-USA in scoring margin, having been outscored by an average of 5.2 ppg.

UTSA won the only meeting between the two programs last season in what was the inaugural Conference USA contest for the Roadrunners.

The Roadrunners' lack of efficiency hurt their chances against the Miners last weekend, as they finished just 3-of-15 from 3-point range and converted only 12-of-22 attempts at the free-throw line. The squad also tallied just seven assists against 20 turnovers. Senior center Kaj-Bjorn Sherman and freshman guard Larry Lewis netted 11 points apiece, while senior forward Jeromie Hill added 10. Hill continues to lead UTSA at 15.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Those marks rank seventh and sixth, respectively, on C-USA's leaderboards. Keon Lewis has also been impressive throughout the campaign en route to averages of 14.2 points, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals per contest.

Marshall actually held a four-point lead at intermission against FAU, but the Owls took control after the break thanks to a 13-of-16 performance at the free-throw line. The Thundering Herd connected on only 37.5 percent of their field goal tries, including an 0-of-7 showing from 3-point range over the final 20 minutes. Sophomore forward Ryan Taylor spearheaded the charge for Marshall with 24 points and eight rebounds, and Aleska Nikolic had 15 points and six boards. D?Antoni's squad is led by Taylor's 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. The Thundering Herd are averaging 66.1 ppg and they are shooting 38.6 percent from the field this season, making them the only C-USA program with a field goal percentage lower than .400. Austin Loop is second on the team in scoring with 11 ppg, while Nikolic leads the way with 3.8 apg.

Marshall showed in the first half of its matchup with FAU that there is some talent present on the roster. The Thundering Herd could finally end their losing ways on Thursday with the homecourt advantage in their favor. Taylor will be the most talented player on the floor, but his teammates will need to handle some of the pressure to give Marshall a shot.