JMU women win on Senior Day
James Madison sent its senior class out with a 63-44 win over Old Dominion in the Dukes’ final home game of the season in Colonial Athletic Association women’s basketball Sunday afternoon at the JMU Convocation Center.
JMU improved to 22-6 overall and 13-4 in CAA play. ODU dropped to 9-20 overall and 6-11 in the CAA as the Monarchs dropped their fourth straight game. Read more
VCU tops Mason, 89-77
The George Mason men’s basketball team closed out the 2011-12 regular season on Saturday night, falling 89-77 to Colonial Athletic Association rival VCU at the Siegel Center. Mason (23-8, 14-4) suffered its first double-digit loss in conference this season, earning the third seed in next week’s conference tournament. The Rams (25-6, 15-3) avenged a one-point loss to Mason in Fairfax 11 days ago, and will be the number two seed.
Senior CAA Player of the Year candidate Ryan Pearson led the Patriots with 24 points along with nine rebounds. Classmate Mike Morrison matched Pearson’s total off the glass, leading a 36-27 Patriots advantage in rebounding, and added 10 points. Sophomore Sherrod Wright rounded out the double-digit scorers for Mason with 11 points, while Bradford Burgess led all scorers with 31 points, one of three Rams in double figures. Read more
JMU women clinch first-round CAA bye
The James Madison women’s basketball team led from the opening basket as the Dukes beat Hofstra 80-61 in Colonial Athletic Association play Thursday night the JMU Convocation Center.
JMU, which clinched a top-four seed and a first-round bye for the upcoming CAA Tournament, improved to 21-6 overall and 12-4 in league play.
Hofstra’s record stands at 18-9 overall and 10-6 in CAA games.
The Dukes led by 13 (43-30) at halftime and Hofstra got no closer than 11 (43-32 at 19:35) in the second period. JMU was up by as many as 24 (62-38 at 13:27) in the second half.
JMU senior forward Kiara Francisco (Lakeland, Fla./Winter Haven) came off the bench to tie her career-high with a game-high 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the floor and 4-for-5 shooting at the foul line. Redshirt senior forward Lauren Whitehurst (Chesapeake, Va./Indian River) added 15 points (6-9 FG, 3-5 FT) and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Three other Dukes scored in double figures as junior guard Tarik Hislop (Silver Spring, Md./Paint Branch) added 11 and redshirt junior guard Jasmine Gill (Greensboro, N.C./Page) and sophomore guard KirbyBurkholder (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) each scored 10.
JMU freshman forward Toia Giggetts (Norfolk, Va./Lake Taylor) led all players with 11 rebounds, tying her career high.
Hofstra was led in scoring by junior forward Shante Evans (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) with 17 and senior guard Candice Bellocchio (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter’s) with 10. Evans, Bellocchio and junior forward/guard Candace Bond (Fort Washington, Md./Riverdale Baptist) each finished with seven rebounds.
CAA, NBC reach deal on TV rights for basketball, football
The Colonial Athletic Association has reached five-year agreements with the NBC Sports Group that will provide the most extensive and comprehensive exposure of the conference in its history with coverage on NBC Sports Network and across the group’s regional sports networks.
The agreements, which begin with the 2012-13 season and runs through 2016-17, will provide national television coverage of CAA men’s basketball and football games on the NBC Sports Network, regional television coverage of CAA men’s and women’s basketball and football through the Comcast SportsNet regional networks and coverage of a variety of other CAA sports through NBCSports.com. The CAA is the first collegiate athletic conference to sign a broadcast agreement with the NBC Sports Network, which launched on January 2, 2012. Read more
JMU falls at home to Kent State
Trailing by seven early in the second half, Kent State turned the tide to outscore James Madison 39-12 over the final 16 minutes en route to a 71-51 men’s basketball victory Tuesday evening at the Convocation Center.
Playing on the road for the first time since its season opener, Kent State won its fourth in a row to improve to 6-1. JMU had its three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 4-3.
JMU used a modest 8-3 run to end the first half with a 29-26 lead, its first halftime lead of the season. A jumper by junior guardA.J. Davis (Columbus, Ohio/Harmony Christian) along with threes by senior guardHumpty Hitchens (Chillicothe, Ohio/Chillicothe) extended the lead nine at 37-28, making it an overall 16-5 run.
The Dukes still led by seven at 39-32 with 16:39 to go when the Golden Flashes dramatically switched the momentum. KSU reeled off seven straight points to tie the score. Then with the game still tied at 42-42, the visitors added a 10-0 burst in less than two minutes to grab control.
JMU could get no closer than eight points on the ensuing basket by freshman forwardEnoch Hood (Norfolk, Va./Booker T. Washington) as Kent State continued to control the game flow. It was still a 10-point margin at 59-49 with less than four minutes remaining when the Flashes used an 8-0 run to seal the victory.
Altogether, Kent State outscored JMU 39-12 after the Dukes the 39-32 lead at the 16:39 mark of the second half. It was a 29-9 margin from the time the teams were tied at 42-42.
Chris Evans led five KSU players in double figures with 17 points, seven rebounds and three steals in the winning effort. Michael Porrini posted a balance stat line with 10 points, seven boards, five assists and three steals. Randal Holt added 10 points, six boards and four assists. Forward Justin Greene posted 10 points, five boards, three assists, three steals and two blocks. Eric Gaines also had 10 points.
Hitchens led JMU with 11 points, three assists and four steals. Freshman guard Arman Marks (Louisville, Ky./Eastern) had the first double-figure game of his career with 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting. Junior forward Andrey Semenov (St. Petersburg, Russia/Blue Ridge School) also had 10 points to go with four assists.
JMU’s 51 points, 33 percent shooting from the field and 26 percent from the arc (6-for-23) were all season lows while 15 steals were a season high. Both teams suffered from turnovers with Kent State committing 23 compared to 19 for Madison.
KSU shot 52 percent for the game, fueled by 63 percent (17-for-27) in the second half. The Flashes shot 41 percent from the arc and held a 39-29 advantage in rebounds with six players grabbing at least five missed shots.
Both teams struggled from the field in the first half with JMU shooting 34 percent from the field and hitting just three of its 12 three-point attempts. Kent State hit 40 percent overall but fared better at the arc, hitting 4-of-7.
The Dukes held the largest lead of the opening half, jumping out to a 16-10 advantage. It was a tight back-and-forth affair from that point. KSU held a 23-21 lead before JMU ended the period on an 8-3 run. Madison was up 27-26 before calling timeout with 2.9 seconds remaining. Out of the inbounds play, Hitchens found Marks for an open jumper from the left side, and he banked it in for a 29-26 score at the half.
Semenov led all players with nine points in the first half. Porrini and Evans each had five for Kent State.
JMU will now break for semester exams before resuming action on Dec. 19 when the Dukes host The Citadel at 7 p.m.
JMU falls at Towson in women’s CAA opener
For only the third time in 31 meetings, Towson defeated James Madison as the Tigers posted a 65-58 win in the Colonial Athletic Association women’s basketball opener for both teams Sunday afternoon at the Towson Center.
The Dukes, who lost for the first time this season, have a 5-1 record. Towson, whose only losses have come to Top 25 teams Maryland and Connecticut, has a 5-2 record.
“Towson outplayed us; they deserved to win,” said JMU Head Coach Kenny Brooks. “We came out a little bit flat, and we never re-grouped. They were quicker to the loose balls, and we never really had the energy we needed. You can’t come on the road and play lackluster games like this.”
JMU junior guardTarik Hislop (Silver Spring, Md./Paint Branch) led all scorers with 14 points and also made three steals. She was one of three Dukes to score in double figures, joined by redshirt senior forward Lauren Whitehurst (Chesapeake, Va./Indian River) with 12 and redshirt junior guard Jasmine Gill (Greensboro, N.C./Page) with 10.
Whitehurst and junior forward Nikki Newman (Harrisonburg, Va./Turner Ashby) led the Dukes with eight rebounds apiece.
Five Towson players scored in double figures and two finished with double-doubles. Krystal Parnell and Deree Fooks each scored 13, Tanisha McTiller and Krystin Fields scored 12 apiece and Nyree Williams finished with 11. Williams also grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds, and Fooks had 13 rebounds.
JMU wins CAA opener
Senior guard Humpty Hitchens (Chillicothe, Ohio/Chillicothe) nailed a jumper from the left elbow with 2.8 seconds remaining to give James Madison a 62-60 victory over Hofstra in the Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon at the Mack Sports Complex.
JMU won its third in a row to improve to 4-2 overall. The Dukes won their CAA opener for the first time in four seasons under head coach Matt Brady and just the second time in the last 11 seasons. Hofstra fell to 3-5 and 0-1 in the league. JMU also snapped a 12-game losing streak in the head-to-head series.
For the second straight game, the Dukes put the ball in Hitchens’ hands with the clock winding down during a tie ball game. With JMU spreading the floor into four corners in a similar fashion to the win at Penn, Hitchens drove to the left elbow and elevated and swished his jumper over Hofstra’s Dwan McMillan with 2.8 seconds left. A half-court heave by Hofstra at the buzzer was no good.
Hitchens finished with a team-high 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including a trio of three-pointers. Senior forwardJulius Wells (Toledo, Ohio/Libbey) nearly had a double-double with 11 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Junior guardA.J. Davis (Columbus, Ohio/Harmony Christian) added 12 points for JMU.
Mike Moore led Hofstra with 24 points and seven rebounds, though he was limited to four points in the second half and his only field goal of the period came on the tying bucket in the final 30 seconds. David Imes added 10 points and seven boards.
JMU trailed by four at the break but tied the score quickly in the first two minutes of the second half. Hofstra responded with a 7-0 spurt as part of an overall 12-2 run to grab its largest lead of the game at 43-33.
The Pride still led 47-37 with 11:15 remaining when the Dukes made their push to get back into the game. A pair of threes by Hitchens cut the margin to 48-43 less than two minutes later. Trailing 50-43, juniorAlioune Diouf (Powder Springs, Ga./McEachern) hit a jumper, Wells canned a three and Diouf hit another layup to cap a 13-3 run and tie the score at 50-50 with 7:02 remaining.
With the game knotted at 52-52 for a minute and a half, Hofstra appeared to regain momentum with an interior pass by Shemiye McLendon leading to a Moussa Kone slam followed by a McLendon jumper. The Pride had a chance to extend the lead further after a JMU turnover, but McMillan missed a jumper with two minutes remaining.
With JMU’s leading scorer limited to six points to that juncture, Davis emerged with big plays on consecutive possessions. His three-pointer with 1:47 remaining cut the deficit to one at 56-55. After a Hofstra turnover, Davis converted a three-point play with a jumper and free throw for JMU’s first lead since the last four minutes of the first half.
Held quiet in the second half to that point after posting 20 in the first period, Moore hit a pair of free throws to tie it for the Pride. Hitchens responded with his first big play down the stretch, hitting a jumper from the right baseline to go up 60-58 with 38 seconds left.
Moore responded with his only field goal of the half with 26 seconds left to again tie the score at 60-60. Hitchens then ran the clock down under 10 seconds before making his move to hit the game winner with 2.8 seconds remaining.
JMU shot 42 percent from the floor after hitting 14-of-26 (54 percent) in the second half. The Dukes entered the game ranked third nationally for three-point percentage but hit just six of their 21 attempts (29 percent).
Hofstra shot 41 percent from the floor and was held to 37 percent in the second half following a 44 percent showing in the first half. The Pride shot 6-for-16 (38 percent) from the arc.
The first half was tightly-contested most of the way with neither team grabbing a lead larger than four. With JMU leading 24-21, the Pride went on a quick 10-0 burst to pull ahead 31-24 as the half was winding down. Madison got a final possession with 2.1 seconds left and Hitchens swished a three from beyond half court to cut the margin to 31-27 at the break.
Moore dominated the first half for Hofstra with 20 of the Pride’s 31 points, including four three-pointers. Hitchens had eight in the first half while Davis was limited to four minutes played due to early fouls. JMU had a 22-13 advantage on the boards in the first half with 11 offensive boards leading to an 11-0 advantage in second-chance points.
Following the CAA opener, the Dukes return to non-conference action on Tuesday, Dec. 6 with a 7 p.m. contest against Kent State.
