Despite career-highs of 19 points and six made 3-pointers from sophomore guard Jackson Kent (High Point, N.C./High Point Christian), James Madison dropped an 84-65 decision to William and Mary in Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball action Saturday afternoon at the JMU Convocation Center.
The loss dropped the Dukes to 13-10 overall and 6-4 in the CAA while the Tribe improved to 14-7 overall and took sole possession of first place in the league at 8-2.
W&M led 12-8 early but used a 25-0 run–while holding JMU scoreless for a span of 10:02–to take a commanding 37-8 lead with 6:31 left in the first half to give the visitors a substantial enough lead to run away with the win.
Daniel Dixon led the Tribe with a career-high 25 points on 9-for-13 shooting and also knocked down five treys in the win. Omar Prewitt shot 9-for-11 from the floor to finish with 21 points while Marcus Thornton contributed 17 points. Terry Tarpey, who had a triple-double in the last meeting with the Dukes, finished with a double-double of 12 points and game highs of 10 rebounds and four steals.
Kent provided 19 points for JMU for the second straight game after going 6-for-9 from beyond the arc, notching the single-most made threes in a game for the sophomore. Junior guard Ron Curry (Pennsauken, N.J./Paul VI) scored 14 of his 16 points in the season half, while dishing out a game-best six assists and tying a season high with three steals. Junior guard Winston Grays (Cleveland, Ohio/Benedictine (Cincinnati State)) also provided 12 points after draining a career-high four 3-pointers.
The Tribe shot 60.4 percent (32-53) from the floor, which marked the first time a team shot at least 60 percent since Feb. 9, 2008. They were also 57.9 percent (11-19) from 3-point range en route to sweeping the season series with JMU for the second straight season.
JMU finished the game at 43.8 percent (21-48) overall but was proficient from long range, making 50 percent (14-28) of its 3-point tries. The 14 made treys were the most of the season for the Dukes and the most since they converted 15 treys against Rider on Nov. 25, 2011.
W&M held a slim 29-26 rebounding edge and forced JMU into 19 turnovers, tying for the second-most in a game this year. The Tribe outscored the Dukes 36-14 in the paint and 23-10 off turnovers.
After falling behind by 29 after the 25-point surge by W&M, the Dukes ended the first stanza on a 15-6 run to make it 43-22 at halftime. Early in the second, the Tribe extended the lead back to 29 at 56-27 just over three minutes into the half, matching the largest lead of the day.
Trailing 62-39, the Dukes made a run, scoring eight in a row, which was capped off by a pair of Kent treys to get JMU to within 62-47. However, it would be the closest the team would get as the Tribe grew the lead back to as high as 26 five minutes later.
The Dukes complete their three-game homestand on Wednesday, Feb. 4 when it hosts UNCW for a 7 p.m. tip at the JMU Convocation Center.
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Chris Graham
