JMU romps past Wilmington, 78-50

Three Dukes put up double digit points to lead the James Madison men’s basketball team to a 78-50 victory over the UNCW Seahawks in a Colonial Athletic Association game Wednesday night at the JMU Convocation Center.

JMU ended a two-game losing streak to move to 8-8 on the season and 2-1 in Colonial Athletic Association play.  UNCW fell to 5-10 and 0-3 in the conference.

Redshirt senior guard A.J. Davis (Columbus, Ohio/Harmony Community School) recorded his first career double-double at JMU with 16 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Redshirt senior forward Rayshawn Goins (Cleveland, Ohio/Glenville) posted a game-high 18 points and freshman guard Andre Nation (Plant City, Fla./Faith Baptist Christian School) contributed 12 points of his own.  Redshirt senior guard Devon Moore (Columbus, Ohio/Northland) kicked out a season-high eight assists.

For the Seahawks, senior forward Keith Rendleman led the team with 17 points while sophomore forward Cedrick Williams pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.

UNCW started the game off with an 8-0 run and held JMU scoreless for the first 4:02 of the game.  A jumper by Goins, however, gave the Dukes the spark they needed to go on a 15-1 run over the next 6:29 to take a 15-9 lead.

The Seahawks were able to put together a 6-0 spurt to tie the game at 15-all but were unable to retake the lead. A 23-6 run to close out the half by the home squad gave the Dukes a comfortable 38-21 advantage they would never relinquish.

JMU kept its foot on the gas to start the second half, posting the first six points out of the locker room.  UNCW was unable to score a field goal for a combined 6:59 between the first and second halves. The Seahawks only got as close as 13 before the Dukes pushed their lead to as much as 37 in the final 20 minutes.

Madison forced 21 turnovers on the night and converted those into 29 points, including 18 in the first half off of 14 giveaways.  JMU shot the ball well all night, finishing at 49.2 percent from the field while the defense held UNCW to just 27.5 percent from the field and just 20 percent from beyond the arc.

JMU returns to action this Saturday as the Dukes host the Drexel Dragons at the JMU Convocation Center.  Tip-off is set for 4 p.m., as NBC Sports Network will carry the game nationally.