Despite a game-high 23 points from junior guard Ron Curry, UNCW used a huge first-half run to set the tempo in a 74-54 Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball victory against James Madison Wednesday night at Trask Coliseum.
The Dukes (18-12, 11-6 CAA) saw their five-game win streak come to an end while the Seahawks (17-11, 12-5 CAA) completed the season sweep of the Dukes, winning consecutive games in the all-time series for the first time since the 2006-07 season.
Curry led all players with 23 points after tying his career high of five made 3-pointers on 5-for-7 shooting. Sophomore forward Yohanny Dalembert was a rebound shy of a double-double with 11 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, while redshirt sophomore Dimitrije Cabarkapa added 10 points and a career-high seven rebounds in the defeat.
JMU was limited to 36.7 percent shooting (18-49) and 36.8 percent (7-19) from beyond the arc, while struggling from the free throw line, at 57.9 percent (11-19). The Seahawks shot 48.2 percent (27-56) for the game and 33.3 percent (7-21) from long range and connected on 68.4 percent (13-19) from the stripe.
UNCW was led by Addison Spruill, who scored 18 points in his final home game as a Seahawk on 7-for-10 shooting, to go with nine rebounds. UNCW had balanced scoring, as Jordon Talley accrued 11 points, all in the second half, as he made three triples in the win. C.J. Gettys came off the bench to score eight of his 10 points in the first half, while three others scored at least eight points.
The Seahawks, who led wire-to-wire, outscored the Dukes 32-22 in the paint and had a distinct advantage off turnovers, forcing JMU into 15, which resulted in 14 points for the home team.
The Seahawks stormed out of the gates using a 16-0 run to snag a 19-3 lead with 11:30 left in the first half. JMU made just one of its first nine shots, while committing six turnovers to allow UNCW to set the pace. The ‘Hawks extended the lead, using a 9-2 surge to go up 32-12 with 3:50 to go in the first. The Dukes answered with a 13-1 run on 5-for-7 shooting in just over three minutes to get it back to single digits, but a Ponder triple just before half gave the hosts a 36-25 lead at the break.
The second half started much like the first as UNCW scored the first seven points to extend its lead to 43-25 with 17:11 to play. JMU got the deficit back to 14 at 48-34 but could not close the gap any further as the Seahawks took the lead past 20 with less than six minutes remaining to coast toward the win.
JMU concludes the regular season on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. when it hosts Hofstra (19-11, 10-7 CAA) at the JMU Convocation Center. The game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet, The Comcast Network and SportsNet New York with Al Koken and Brad Jackson on the call.
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