Barton's 29 leads Memphis over Marshall

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Will Barton scored a career-high 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds Saturday night as Memphis pulled away from Marshall at the end for an 83-76 victory over the Thundering Herd. The win, the third straight for the Tigers (15-6, 6-1 Conference USA), left them tied at the top of the conference standings with Southern Mississippi, which won earlier Saturday night at Central Florida. Tarik Black worked inside for 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, part of Memphis converting 30 of 54 shots (55.6 percent). Wesley Witherspoon finished with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Shaquille Johnson led Marshall (13-8, 4-3) with 21 points, while Damier Pitts scored 19, converting 5 of 8 shots. DeAndre Kane added 15 points for the Thundering Herd, who lost their fourth straight. The game was close throughout with neither team having a double-digit lead. There were 13 ties and 14 lead changes in the game.