The Cam Henderson Center has hosted many a game since that very first one against Army on November 27, 1981. But what is the best game fans have witnessed there over the years? The ThunderCast asked some fans that very question.
“The Cam” as it is known is not perfect. Herd Heaven, the misnamed bleachers seemingly positioned above the roof that gets hotter than Hell itself at times, has been packed like sardines and increasing the heat up there. But that is part of the magic of The Cam and according to many fans we talked to, that very dynamic created some of their most memorable games. Heck, I was there for Huntington High’s 2007 game against fellow nationally-ranked DeMatha where the official attendance was 9,048 but I would have sworn under torture that there were more than 12,000. In fact, two other people mentioned the DeMatha and St. Patrick games that Huntington High played that year to be in this conversation.
Atmosphere helps. The place gets rocking and the fans get loud! So what are some games that got us loud?
Mountain State Matchups
Duane Nutt was a cheerleader at Marshall from 1986 to 1990 and later coached the cheerleaders from 1996 to 2012. His best memory in The Cam was the final time WVU came to Huntington to play, December 4, 1990. He even compared the excitement level in the crowd to a certain football game, though the final score was more favorable to Marshall in the Basketball game. “Will never forget it!” Nutt said. “It was probably equal in excitement to the football game we almost beat WVU in The Joan.” We’ll hear from Duane again later in this article, but that WVU game was obviously super special to him.
That game saw Coach Dwight Freeman’s Thundering Herd beat WVU 97-80, led by John Taft’s 28 points, which included five three-pointers. Tyrone Phillips added 22 points and 11 rebounds while Andre Cunningham dropped in 20. Those three alone combined for 70 points to go against the Mountaineers’ 80. The Herd had a comfortable lead at halftime (44-34) and added to it in the second half with an offensive explosion. The official attendance was a staggering 9,786 fans!
Cory Dennison also had a vivid memory of a Marshall victory against WVU in The Cam. After his family moved to West Virginia in 1986, he was at the December 27, 1987 game that made quite the impression on him. “My first memory of Marshall Basketball or any college basketball–including WVU–was when Marshall beat WVU at the Henderson Center in 1987. It was packed and rocking. It was fun and a huge win for The Herd.” In that 82-72 victory, Skip Henderson poured in 28 points and had six assists. Tom Curry had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Andy Paul WIlliamson only missed one shot from the floor and added 13 points. And Rodney Holden fouled out and only had five points but pulled down 15 rebounds in 22 minutes! It was a tremendous team effort.
Taking Down a Ranked Rival
Paul Swann has covered The Herd for a long time. He has seen a few games. So what stands out to him after hundreds of games? “I always remember Marshall beating 13th-ranked East Tennessee State on February 23, 1991, 107-103 in overtime. The Buccaneers came into Huntington ranked, and it was one of the final games to feature Marshall legend John Taft. Keith Jennings played for ETSU, and it was always a battle when those two were on the court.”
The Southern Conference foe had a great year, and came into The Cam sporting a 21-3 record, with one of those losses coming in the second game of the season at then #3 Arizona in a respectable loss. Needless to say, ETSU and SoCon Player of the Year Jennings were indeed a tough opponent to topple but Marshall was up to the task. No box score exists for this game online, but just know that ETSU would not lose again until being bounced from the NCAA Tournament as a 10 seed and finished with a 17 ranking in the final poll. This was a terrific win.
Taking Down a Ranked Deacon
Future NBA player Loren Woods and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons came to town on 12/17/1997 ranked 23rd in the nation. Tim Duncan had just been the number one overall pick in the NBA Draft from the team that finished ranked 9th in the country. The Demon Deacons were a rising team nationally. Coach Greg White’s Marshall squad knocked the, down a peg, and Jeff McDowell has vivid memories of it. “I remember when they beat Wake Forest at home,” McDowell said. “Wake Forest was ranked in the top 25 and had Loren Woods at Center. My fraternity brothers and I stormed the court to celebrate the upset.”
No box score can be found for this game either, but any time a ranked ACC team can be toppled, that is a huge win. Marshall took down Wake Forest 73-66 and that was the last of their rankings for the season. Obviously we don’t have stats on number of times the fans have rushed the court following a win, but it is probably fairly low at The Cam. That definitely makes this a game to remember.
Send-off of a Favorite Son
Jon Elmore left Marshall as its all-time leading scorer and a definite fan favorite. To get that scoring record, Marshall played in a postseason tournament, the 2019 College Invitational Tournament (CIT). Elmore surpassed Skip Henderson for the record during the tournament, and then The Herd won the tournament finale at home. Jacob Dunkle and Phillip Heald both mentioned how special it was to see Marshall win a postseason tournament at home but also give Elmore the fitting end to his career. Top five all-time scorer CJ Burks scored 28 points in the final and won tournament MVP.
“It was very special to see Jon Elmore cap off his long list of accomplishments with the Marshall scoring record in 2019 in the CIT tournament,” Dunkle said. “Not as much hype or energy as the others, but just something that felt right for the legacy and something you wanted to be there for.” Dunkle and Heald both mentioned other games, and just about everyone found it difficult to come up with a definitive answer for which game was best.
Personal Favorites from the Past Two Seasons
Two very recent games come to mind for me that shot way up in my best games category. First was the Men’s Basketball game versus Georgia Southern on February 16, 2023. Marshall was a heavy favorite coming into the game but was trailing 79-68 with only 1:36 left in the game. Georgia Southern had a 98.7% win probability at that time and things looked to be over for The Herd. What happened next is nearly indescribable. If I hadn’t seen it myself, I would have a hard time believing it.
Marshall hit a layup by Obinna Anochili-Killen and converted the free throw for a three point play; four foul shots from Andy Taylor and Anochili-Killen; and a three-pointer by Kam Curfman. In 51 seconds, The Herd cut a 10 point deficit to a single point. After trading foul shots back and forth, Marshall took the lead for good with 14 seconds to go on a circus shot from Andy Taylor and secured the improbable 84-83 win. Marshall had four steals in that final 1:36 against a GaSo team that had three guards foul out. What a game! What a win! Andy Taylor led with 28 points and Taevion Kinsey had 25, but it was that magical final minute and a half that made this insane game. The crowd was nuclear at the end.
The other game that rocketed to the top for me was Women’s Basketball against the Florida Gators on December 2, 2023. Coach Kim Caldwell’s team had shown some glimpses of what they could do as a team earlier in the season but were off to a 2-4 start. They were without leading scorer Roshala Scott for the first game of what would turn out to be the rest of the season. The Herd held their own for a bit and then would fall behind. But they ket battling back. Down 13? Here comes Marshall. Down again by 11? Here comes Marshall. Down nine late? Here comes Marshall.
In what would serve as the coming out party to let the country know that this Marshall squad would never give up and was capable of coming back from any deficit, Marshall rallied and took down the Gators. Florida was up 88-81 with 3:28 left in the game. The Herd held them scoreless the rest of the way and won 91-88 in a crazy finish that had the crowd going equally as crazy. The only drawback to this game was it did not have the large crowds that would turn out to watch The Herd later in the season.
Check out the Game Flows and Win Probabilities for those two games below:
Taking Down Some Villains
Every great hero story needs a villain, right? Well what about two? That is what we got when “turncoat” Coach Donnie Jones returned to The Cam after leaving Marshal to coach conference rival UCF. That is a good enough storyline and reason to be into the game, right? Well, UCF Guard AJ Rompza added a lot of fuel to the inferno. Do you remember the tweets? The fans I spoke to sure did. Rompza took to Twitter and trashed Marshall; Huntington; the fans; the hotel; and the non-flat screen TVs. Yes, the fans were at a fever pitch for current public enemies one and two, Jones and Rompza.
Travis Austin was one fan that picked this game as the best he had seen live at The Cam. “Easy: UCF,” Austin said. What a game. What an atmosphere. And AJ Rompza lost!” Austin remembered UCF Coach Jones not coming out with his team because the fans were all over him. He snuck out later to try and be less noticed. He also remembered the postgame scene. “At the end of the game, [Marshall Head Coach] Tom Herrion jumps on top of the scorers table, takes the mic, and shouts, ‘GO HERD!'”
Matt McCormick agreed. “Hard to top Donnie’s first loss back, atmosphere wise,” he said. It was a sold out game with 9,036 fans officially, and those fans were rabid all night. Charles Elkins said, “I got there as soon the place opened to sit in the first row of Herd Heaven. [The] place was electric from start to finish.” Austin was up there too. “It was about 107 degrees and a packed house,” he said.
Another aspect mentioned was the glow sticks from that era adding to the atmosphere. Nutt mentioned them specifically when placing this game as the best ever. “The electricity of our fans, the glow sticks, the surge of energy from the prep band. Herd Nation was clicking that night from the first jump back to the final buzzer.” Dunkle concurred. “The energy was palpable in 2011 with the height of the glow stick usage for the pregame,” he said. He also mentioned Jones, Rompza, and UCF player Marcus Jordan making it easy to root against UCF.
Nearly everyone I spoke to mentioned this game as the best because of this atmosphere amongst the fans. The game itself was not close. There was no buzzer beater; no come from behind win. Marshall won 83-69 to send Jones and Rompza back to lick their wounds. Rompza did not start; played 16 minutes; and had four fouls to go with his six points, For Marshall, Damier Pitts had 25 points and eight assists, totally outclassing Rompza.
Final Thoughts
It seems clear that an electric atmosphere and a packed crowd are more memorable than the last second wins. At least, they rank higher to fans when asked what the best games are that they have witnessed. Obviously the Donnie Jones return had all the ingredients to be an all-time game to watch, but it also would not have been as memorable if Marshall lost. And maybe the fans and their energy was a part of making sure that did not happen.
What are your favorite memories and games? Drop a comment below and tell us what the best game is that you ever watched in The Cam.
Marshall-WVU game when the WVU player quit in the middle of the game and walked off as he toke off his jersey! Plus we beat WVU and Dale Catlett!