Dukes Dominate Tribe

For the first time since 2003, the JMU Men's Basketball team won a game in the CAA Tournament. It was also the Dukes' largest margin of victory of the season, as they won 70-48. Teams had been having trouble adjusting to the Richmond Coliseum's baskets the whole day, but JMU was able to find their shot. William and Mary, on the other hand, was not able to hit their shots and only shot 35.2% for the night, sending them back to straight flipping copies. This was the first time a JMU opponent has shot under 40% since they played UNCW on January 31 and W&M was the only opponent all year not to hit the 50 point mark. This terrible offensive performance by the Tribe also included going 1-18 from behind the arc. It was like they had just gotten splashed in the eyes by a dolphin.

The Dukes, however, were on Friday night, especially in the second half. The first half saw JMU hitting 50% from the field and only 14.3% (1-7) from behind the arc. This gave them a 32-25 lead. They got hot the second half, though, and shot 59.1% from the field and an outstanding 62.5% for 3 (5-8). Junior Pierre Curtis had an outstanding game, going 7-8 (including 1-1 from 3), made all 4 of his free throws, grabbed 6 boards, and got a steal. Senior Juwann James played great and had 12 points, going 5-7 (though only hitting 2-5 on free throws) and grabbing 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Senior Kyle Swanston also had a great game going 3-5 from behind the arc, had 4 rebounds and got a steal. The trio of Julius Wells, Dazzmond Thornton, and Devon Moore each had 8 points and 4 rebounds. They Dukes were able to fully clear the bench at the end of the game, allowing all the players some tourney experience.

It was an awesome and commanding start for the Dukes. The two seniors after winning their first game in the CAA tournament in their careers probably felt like they were on a boat. Juwann was quick to make sure they were focusing on getting through Monday. He'll have to make it till then if he wants to be a champ and drink some Santana. While it is still very unlikely that they would be able to make it through that big blue watery road of the CAA tournament, if the Dukes play like they did yesterday, like Kevin Garnett, anything is possible.

DNR | RTD | Box Score
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