Home JMU men’s basketball tops Delaware in 88-82 shootout
Sports

JMU men’s basketball tops Delaware in 88-82 shootout

Contributors

jmu logoBehind a season-high 88 points and several career highs, James Madison outlasted Delaware for an 88-82 Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball victory Wednesday night at the JMU Convocation Center.

The victory improved Madison to 13-9 overall and 6-3 in CAA play while the Blue Hens dropped to 4-16 overall and 3-6 in conference action.

Four JMU players scored in double figures, led by career nights by sophomore guard Jackson Kent (High Point, N.C./High Point Christian) and sophomore forward Tom Vodanovich (Wellington, New Zealand/St. Patrick’s College). Kent poured in a career-best 19 points while hitting 5-for-9 from beyond the arc to tie his single-game best in treys made. Vodanovich turned in the single-best point total of his career as well, scoring 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting. He also led the Dukes with eight rebounds and had two blocks.

Sophomore forward Yohanny Dalembert (Port-au-Prince, Haiti/Lower Merion (Pa.)) also had 17 points and two blocks while junior guard Ron Curry (Pennsauken, N.J./Paul VI) rounded out JMU’s double-figure scorers with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Curry also tied his season-best totals of seven rebounds and eight assists, a game high.

Marvin King-Davis led the way for the Blue Hens with a game- and career-high 31 points on 10-of-17 shooting. He also knocked down 11-of-13 shots from the charity stripe. Both Devonne Pinkard and Chivarsky Corbett each chipped in 12 points while Kyle Anderson added 10 points in the losing effort.

The Dukes accrued the third-best shooting percentage of the season, finishing the night at 54.2 percent (32-of-59) from the floor while making eight 3-pointers and knocking down 76.2 percent (16-of-21) of their free throws. They held a narrow 36-33 rebounding advantage while holding the Blue Hens to 44.6 percent (29-of-65) shooting. UD shot well from beyond the arc, converting 12 treys at 44.4 percent (12-of-27), and hit 75 percent (12-of-16) from the charity stripe.

Both teams had great ball control, tallying just five turnovers apiece and dished out a combined 34 assists in a game that produced 10 ties and 11 lead changes.

Both teams overcame a sluggish start in the first half and with JMU leading 17-16, back-to-back treys by Corbett gave Delaware a 22-17 lead with 9:41 left. The Hens extended their lead to 27-19 on another Corbett triple but the Dukes came right back in a run to not just erase the deficit but also take the lead. Down six, a Vodanovich layup sparked a 14-2 JMU run over the final 4:51 to take a 40-34 halftime lead as Delaware was held without a point for the final 3:35 of the frame.

Going up 10 early in the second half after a fast-break layup by Dalembert with 16:53 to play to make it 46-36, the Dukes kept Delaware at arm’s length until the Blue Hens, sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers by Pickard, went on a 12-4 run to tie the game at 61 with 8:58 left.

Down the stretch, the two teams traded leads three times and were tied five before a Curry bucket and foul with 2:54 left put the Dukes ahead 76-73. Up by just one, Vodanovich scored in the lane and the Dukes made all eight free-throw attempts in the final 34 seconds to seal the win.

Madison returns to action Saturday at 4 p.m. when it hosts William & Mary. That game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet, The Comcast Network and SportsNet New York.

Contributors

Contributors

Have a guest column, letter to the editor, story idea or a news tip? Email editor Chris Graham at [email protected]. Subscribe to AFP podcasts on Apple PodcastsSpotifyPandora and YouTube.