James Madison used a 22-3 run to bridge the halves as it completed the season sweep of Delaware with a 67-54 Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball victory on Thursday night at the Bob Carpenter Center.
The Dukes won their second straight game to improve to 15-11 on the season and 8-5 in the CAA while securing a winning season in their conference road slate, moving to 5-2. The Blue Hens dropped its fourth game in six outings to fall to 6-18 on the year and 5-8 in league play.
Sophomore forward Yohanny Dalembert posted his second double-double of the season with a team-high 14 points and game-high 10 rebounds while freshman guard Joey McLean recorded his third straight double-figure scoring performance with 13 points, making three treys and adding four assists and three steals.
JMU, which shot 42.1 percent (24-57) from the floor, had a balanced night across the board in terms of point scorers as four others combined for 33 points. Sophomore forward Tom Vodanovich accrued nine points and seven rebounds and sophomore guard Jackson Kent also had nine points, to go with five rebounds and three steals.
Junior guard Ron Curry had eight points and a game-high five assists, seeing his 11-game double-figure scoring streak come to an end, while redshirt sophomore Dimitrije Cabarkapa turned in career bests of seven points and three rebounds in just nine minutes off the bench.
The Dukes also shot 42.9 percent (9-21) from beyond the arc and knocked down 76.9 percent (10-13) from the free throw line in a game which they outrebounded the hosts 36-30, including 11-6 on the offensive glass, resulting in a 9-0 advantage in second-chance points.
JMU also produced its CAA single-game best 11 steals as it forced Delaware into 15 turnovers. The Dukes also distributed the ball well, tallying 14 assists on 24 made shots. The Dukes outscored the Hens 28-18 in the paint and 8-2 in transition in a game they lead for nearly 30 of the 40 minutes.
The Blue Hens were paced by Chivarsky Corbett, who scored a game-high 17 points, while grabbing five rebounds. Kyle Anderson poured in 14 points to surpass the 1,200-career point mark and led the squad with six boards. Marvin King-Davis, who scored a career-high 31 points two weeks ago in Harrisonburg, was limited to just nine points and three rebounds in the UD loss.
Delaware was held to just 30 percent (6-20) shooting in the second half to finish 37.8 percent (17-45) for the game. It made a third (5-15) of its 3-point tries and was consistent from the charity stripe, where it was 83.3 percent (15-18).
The game remained tight for much of the first half but trailing 19-18, Anderson sparked the Delaware offense, scoring seven points during a 9-2 run that spanned 3:25, to give the home team a 27-21 lead with 4:41 to go.
It would be the last UD would score for some time as Dalembert took not only his first career 3-point attempt, but made it as the shot clock hit zero, which began a big JMU run. McLean followed Dalembert’s trey with one of his own and Cabarkapa later hit a triple inside a minute to play, to conclude off an 11-0 run to end the half, making it 32-27 in favor of JMU at the break.
The second half began much the way the first half ended as Dalembert opened with four quick points before Anderson hit a three to end the scoring drought at 6:35. From there the Dukes created the game’s next seven points to extend the lead to double digits at 43-30 with 15:37 to play, capping the 22-3 run that put the Dukes in control.
Leading 48-38, JMU scored eight straight in less than two minutes to grab a 56-38 advantage with 8:04 remaining, the largest lead to that point. The Dukes led by as many as 20 at 60-40 and the Blue Hens never drew closer than 11 down the stretch.
The Dukes complete their three-game road swing Saturday at 7 p.m. when it travels south to face Elon.
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