Three players scored in double figures for James Madison as the Dukes held off Elon for a 75-72 Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball victory Saturday night at the JMU Convocation Center.
The Dukes improved to 11-8 on the year and 4-2 in the CAA after shooting 54.6 (12-22) from the floor in the second half and surviving a last-second 3-point attempt by the Phoenix, who fell to 10-9 and 2-4. It was the second win in as many games for JMU, which moved to 8-5 at home this season.
Sophomore forward Yohanny Dalembert (Port-au-Prince, Haiti/Lower Merion (Pa.)) led the Dukes with a team-high 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting, notching his fifth double-digit effort since the beginning of league play.
Sophomore guard Jackson Kent (High Point, N.C./High Point Christian) and junior guard Ron Curry(Pennsauken, N.J./Paul VI) joined Dalembert in double figures with 15 and 10 points respectively, while sophomore forward Tom Vodanovich (Wellington, New Zealand/St. Patricks College) was a point shy of a double-double with nine points and a career-best 12 rebounds. Kent and Vodanovich both tied their respective career highs in steals, with three and two.
Three other Dukes tallied at least seven points, as the team finished at 50 percent (25-50), their seventh shooting performance of at least 50 percent. Elon was held to just 38.6 percent (22-57) from the floor but made 80 percent (20-25) of its free throws, as opposed to JMU’s 63.3 percent (19-30) rate from the stripe.
The Dukes won the rebounding war by a narrow 36-34 margin but the Phoenix had a 14-11 advantage on the offensive glass. JMU outscored Elon 32-24 in the paint but the visitors scored more off turnovers (23-18) and in transition (14-6).
Tanner Samson led all players with a game-high 18 points for Elon after he hit five triples. Austin Hamilton scored 11 points while Kevin Blake added 10 points and a team-high six rebounds.
The Phoenix jumped out to an early 8-1 lead less than four minutes into the game, sparked by a pair of 3-pointers. The Dukes answered with a 9-2 surge to tie the game, capped off by six straight points in an eight-second span from freshman guard Joey McLean (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian). After knocking down a three, McLean stole the inbounds pass and converted an old-fashioned three-point play.
Trailing 16-14, Dalembert scored four straight points for JMU to give the hosts their first lead of the game with9:33 remaining in the half. The Dukes held Elon scoreless for 3:34 to grab the lead and never trailed again. Ahead by four, a 3-pointer from junior guard Winston Grays (Cleveland, Ohio/Benedictine (Cincinnati State)) gave the Dukes their largest lead of the half at 33-26 with 3:20 to go, but the Phoenix scored the next four points to make it 33-30 at the break.
Early in the second, JMU stretched its lead to double digits for the first time after Curry made back-to-back jumpers and Vodanovich converted a three-point play with 15:45 left to make it 44-34. The teams traded baskets for the next six minutes but, trailing 57-46, a Samson trey sparked the Elon offense, and the Phoenix trimmed the deficit to five at 57-52 with 9:18 left. JMU got the lead back to 10 with just over five minutes left at 69-59, but the Phoenix weren’t done as they would rally back in the closing minutes.
Down 70-62, a pair of free throws by Dmitri Thompson and Hamilton’s layup off a steal cut JMU’s lead in half to 70-66 with 3:27 remaining. After a Dalembert free throw, Elon added a pair from the line and Blake converted a basket off a Samson steal to bring the visitors to within a point at 71-70 with 1:13 left. Dalembert answered at the other end with a layup in transition eight seconds later and Kent made a big-time steal, forcing the Phoenix to foul Curry with 27 seconds left.
After Curry made both from the line to make it a 75-70 ballgame, Hamilton got his shot to go with 14 seconds to play. JMU attempted to hold on to the possession and force a foul, but Kent was trapped and Thompson pickpocketed the sophomore guard to give Elon one last chance. The Dukes’ defense forced a long 3-point attempt for the tie but Hamilton’s try was well off the mark to give JMU the win.
The Dukes hit the road next week for a pair of CAA games as they head north to take on Northeastern onThursday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m., followed by a contest at Hofstra on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 4 p.m.
Both games can be seen and heard on MadiZONE HD SportsNet and will also be on the local airwaves at WSVA 550 AM and 92.1 FM.
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Chris Graham
