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Late run pushes JMU men to big win over Hofstra

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jmu logoJames Madison broke away from a one-point game with a 16-2 second-half run and defeated Hofstra 62-41 in a Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball game on Thursday night at the Convocation Center.

JMU won its fourth in a row overall and sixth straight at home to improve to 13-10 on the season.  The Dukes also improved to 7-3 in the CAA to stand alone in second place, one and a half games back of first-place Northeastern.  HU fell to 5-16 overall, 2-6 in the CAA with its fifth straight loss.

The Pride scored the first five points of the second half to cut the JMU lead to 30-29 with 16:49 to go.  However, the Dukes racked up 16 of the game’s next 18 points to take command.  A 6-0 spurt raised the lead to seven before a David Imes layup temporarily stopped the bleeding.

However, JMU answered by holding Hofstra scoreless for the next five minutes while going 0-for-6 from the field.  A layup by senior forward Rayshawn Goins (Cleveland, Ohio/Glenville) and three-point play by freshman guard Charles Cooke (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic) extended the lead to its largest to that point at 41-31.

Senior guard A.J. Davis (Columbus, Ohio/Harmony Communiity School) connected on his first of two threes in the game and moments later found sophomore forward Enoch Hood (Norfolk, Va./Booker T. Washington) underneath for a turnaround slam to make it 46-31 with just under 10 minutes to go.  Hofstra got no closer than 11 as JMU coasted from there to the 21-point win, its second largest in the CAA.

Goins finished with a game-high 16 points and seven rebounds to lead the JMU offensive effort.  Cooke had his most productive offensive day of the season, going 5-for-5 from the field with two threes to finish with a season-high 13 points. Freshman guard Andre Nation (Plant City, Fla./Faith Baptist Christian) notched his fourth straight game in double figures with 13 points and a team-high four assists.  Davis had eight points with his deep three under the eight-minute mark giving him 1,000 in his career.

Imes was the lone player for the Pride in double figures with 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks.

The Dukes continued their hot play on the glass of late with a 36-21 advantage in rebounds.  Their 11 offensive rebounds led to a 13-4 lead in second-chance points.  Over the last four games, JMU has outrebounded Delaware, Old Dominion, UNCW and Hofstra by a total of 51 rebounds.

Madison shot 46 percent from the floor, which was boosted by a 52.4 percent showing in the second half.  The Dukes were also 43.8 percent from the arc and 75 percent from the foul line.  Hofstra shot 33 percent from the floor and went 3-for-16 (19 percent) from the arc.

Neither team could gain significant momentum in the first half. With the score tied at 11-11, JMU got a putback three on a long rebound by Cooke and an alley-oop dunk from Moore to Davis to pull in front 16-11.  The Dukes maintained a modest of between two and eight for the remainder of the half before taking a 30-24 advantage into the break.

Goins led all players with 11 points in the first half while Nation and freshman forward Taylor Bessick (Philadelphia, Pa./Rise Academy) each added six.  Imes and Grogan each had six for Hofstra.  JMU used a 21-12 advantage on the boards to lead second-chance points 11-2 while also holding a 16-4 lead in the paint.

JMU will return to the Convo court on Saturday at 4 p.m. to host CAA rival George Mason.  The game will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet (Mid-Atlantic/Philadelphia, New England) and Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS).

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