I don't even know what to say about this game...for most of this I'll just stick to general thoughts. First off, this one hurts. In our first game against Hofstra this season, we were winning most of the game, only to lose by 1 on a last second shot by Hofstra's Jenkins. So there was the revenge factor. Then to add to that, there was the fact that for either team to stay in the hunt for a #4 seed for the CAA tournament they needed to win this game. We were coming into the game without Andrey Semenov, who is still recovering (should be back for Saturday's game against Gardner Webb), but everyone else is healthy (or at least relatively healthy by JMU's standards this year). So this was a very important game that would be a huge game in determining how our post-season journey would begin. On the other hand, Coach Brady was sure to point out before the game that this game was no more important than every other game had been all year (I like his style).
The game started out as you would expect...very hard fought and a close competition between two great teams. Hofstra got out to an early lead of 5 (8-13), but JMU quickly closed the gap and got on a little shooting streak of their own. With 5:01 left in the first half, JMU took a 7 point lead, which was JMU's largest lead of the game. At the 6:54 mark, after a Hofstra dunk, the shot clock became dislodged, stopping the game for several minutes as they brought in a substitute clock. The half ended with JMU leading by 4. In the first period, JMU shot 11-24 for FG's (2-7 from 3pt range) and went 10-12 on FTs while Hofstra went 14-34 (1-8) and 1-2 for FTs. The biggest difference, as you can see, were the number of shots taken by each team, which was caused by Hofstra getting a majority of the rebounds. Hofstra had 11 second chance points compared to JMU's four.
Hofstra started off the half shooting very well and took the lead away from the Dukes less than 5 minutes into the second half. This period would see 5 ties and 5 lead changes. With 11:55 left in regulation, Devon went up for a slam over 2 Hofstra big men, but they made some good, clean blocks. Moore went down to the ground hard and laid on the floor kicking his legs in pain and holding his wrist (all the while the Hofstra students are taunting him). He was taken to the lockerroom and would later return to the bench with a soft cast on and would add a sling later in the game. In the post-game Brady said that it was a pretty serious injury, but it sounded like he was also hoping (whether he is playing with a brace or not) that Devon would be back for the tournament. Add to this the fact that Juwann James had gotten hacked a couple times in the game and also went down to the floor, but luckily was able to get back into the game. Also, halfway through the second half Dazzmond Thornton subbed out of the game and after a short time on the bench walked toward the lockerroom. Some JMU fans at the game say that he didn't quite make it to the lockerroom before making friends with a trashcan for a while. Brady said in post-game that he spent the remainder of the game in the lockerroom hooked up to an IV getting fluids back into his system. Looks like the flu got passed from Devon to Dazz...it just doesn't stop...
With Devon being out, we started to slip for a little bit. Hostra's lead grew to as much as 8 with 7:49 left in the game. This is where Brady's coaching kicks in. These guys never give up. They battled all the way back to take a lead three minutes later. After much back and forth, it came down to JMU tying it back up with 55 seconds left. As Hofstra was taking it back down the court, Ben Louis came up with a big steal. Unfortunately, he also thought it would be a good idea to take a 3pt shot with about 28 seconds left (Brady said "[he] lost his mind for a second"). Ben missed the shot, but luckily Pierre got the rebound and slowed up the game and JMU took a timeout with 13 seconds left. Pierre got the ball back after the timeout and drove with the clock ticking down. He made a quick pass to a double-teamed Juwann who put up a shot but missed. Here we got to OT (the first one...).
The half started out with 3 big call/no-calls that went against JMU and Coach Brady was having none of it. He was furious and let the refs know as he stormed out onto the court. He ended up getting the first technical of his JMU career...after which he thought the refs did a much better job (gotta love him). The Dukes kept getting the ball to Juwann, and Juwann kept getting fouled. Lukcily, he was having a great night from the free throw line and hit six of seven FTs in this period. With 43 seconds left, Ben Louis finally got his fifth foul after playing with four for nearly 15 minutes. Then JMU took advantage of some missed FTs and turnovers by Hofstra to tie it back up with a few layups. 33 seconds remained on the clock. The score was 81-81. Hofstra had the ball. The Dukes played some tight defense requiring the Pride to take a timeout and make several passes after the inbounds. As the time ticked down, Vines took a 3 and missed...sending the game into overtime #2.
At this point our guys were tired. There were no major subs left. Pierre was missing free throws because he had been in for all but 3 minutes of the game his legs were dead. The second overtime was much closer than the first, but it seemed everytime we were about to take a solid lead, Hofstra's Sestokas would hit a shot from behind the arc (he made three in a row from the 2:32 to 1:10 marks). Right after he hit the third, with 45 seconds left, Jenkins got a steal and got it to Lester for a quick layup, putting them up by 4. Juwann then got fouled, but missed both free throws. Vine got fouled and hit both free throws. Then Julius Wells made two 3's in a row, segmented by two made free throws by Hofstra. This meant the lead was down to 2. Davis-Sabb of Hofstra then missed his first FT. Then he missed his second, but Juwann trying to get a jump on the rebound got a lane violation sending Davis-Sabb to the line for another try. He hit this one, taking the lead up to 3. JMU got the ball back with 3 seconds left and no timeouts. Juwann heaved the ball down court and it hit off Hofstra players and went out of bounds. With a little over a second left, Scooter was subbed in and the ball was inbounded to him. He took the final shot from behind the arc and missed...leading to the second heartbreaker against Hofstra this season. Final score: 96-99.
This team has heart. Probably has more heart than any team I've seen in a long time. They are never out of any game. It will be crucial to have Andrey back for the rest of the season and post-season. We are short-handed as it is and will need as much depth as possible for the tournament. Julius had an amazing game, getting a career high 32 points. The other Dukes in double-digits were Juwann James (19), Pierre Curtis (14), Kyle Swanston (11), Dazz Thornton (10) and Devon Moore (10). No one else on JMU's team had any points. To have six players on a team have at least 10 points but still lose is a tough result, but props have to be given to Hofstra's Charles Jenkins (32 pts) and his supporting cast of Lester (22), Sestokas (19) and Townes (15). We had absolutely no answer for Jenkins on defense. We would have to have ODU, Hofstra, and Drexel lose all lose their two remaining conference games and have us win both of ours to get the #4 seed, so that hope is about over. The best we can do is play our best and try to rest up and prepare before the tournament so we have the strength to make a long run in the tournament. Hard fought game, just came up on the wrong end...again...
DNR: Dukes Take Hit In 2 OT's | Box Score
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