HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Playing in his home state of West Virginia for the first time since transferring from Saturday night's opponent, Marshall University, North Carolina Central University sophomore running back Latrell Collier scored NCCU's lone touchdown in a 44-10 loss to the Thundering Herd.
 
A native of Bluefield, West Virginia, located about 2.5 hours away from Marshall, Collier found the end zone on a 4-yard pass from quarterback Davius Richard with 3:23 left in the first half, pulling the Eagles to within 13 points, 20-7. That score was set up by a muffed punt return by Marshall, which was recovered by NCCU long snapper Alex Harper at the Thundering Herd 10-yard line.
 
Marshall responded with 10 unanswered points to go into intermission with a 30-7 cushion.
 
In the second half, Marshall used two double-digit-play drives to increase the advantage to 44-7, before NCCU kicker Adrian Olivo drilled a 21-yard field goal to close out the scoring.
 
"Marshall is a very good football team, and I thought they did a really good job of executing," said NCCU head coach Trei Oliver. "My guys fought hard. We were out-matched, but our guys did not give up. I thought we played hard for 60 minutes, and it took 60 minutes.
 
"We'll bounce back from this," Oliver added. "As long as they keep fighting and give effort, we can get the other stuff corrected."
 
NCCU linebacker Cole Williams registered a game-high 16 tackles, while linebacker Matt Stevens contributed 10 stops, and cornerback Justin Nicholson added nine takedowns and an interception at the goal line. Safety Marvin Reed also grabbed an interception in the end zone and returned the pick 94 yards, tying the sixth-longest interception return in school history.
 
Quarterback Richard threw for 106 yards and a touchdown on 14-for-32 passing.
 
Wide receiver Treveyon Pratt had a team-best four catches for 26 yards, while Tyler Barnes had three receptions for a team-high 40 yards.
 
As a team, Marshall (2-0) amassed 700 yards of total offense, including 463 yards through the air, while NCCU managed 177 total yards.
 
NCCU (1-1) returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 18, versus Winston-Salem State University at 6 p.m. for the Eagles' home-opener inside O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium.