MEN'S BASKETBALL DUKES TOP DELAWARE FOR SECOND STRAIGHT VICTORY

Wednesday, January 3

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James Madison University

4-8, 1-1CAA

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2-11, 0-2CAA

Delaware

James Madison

MEN'S BASKETBALL DUKES TOP DELAWARE FOR SECOND STRAIGHT VICTORY

1/3/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va., Jan. 3, 2007 - Freshman guard Pierre Curtis (Denver, Colo./East) scored a career-high 19 points, and sophomore guard Joe Posey (Colonial Beach, Va./Notre Dame Academy) had a trio of three-point field goals during the second half to lead James Madison to a 62-47 men's basketball victory over Delaware Wednesday at the JMU Convocation Center.

Curtis hit on four of five shots from the field, including each of three attempts from three-point range, and on eight of 10 free throws. He also finished with three assists and three rebounds in 37 minutes.

Posey hit on three-point shots on two consecutive JMU possessions after Delaware cut a 17-point deficit to 10 midway through the second half and added his third three-pointer of the period to give the Dukes a 57-40 edge with just more than three minutes to play.

The victory was JMU's second straight and raised the Dukes' Colonial Athletic Association record to 1-1 and their overall mark to 4-8.

Delaware fell to 0-2 in the conference and to 2-11 overall.

JMU never trailed and begin opening a working margin midway through the initial half. A 10-0 burst during which Curtis and Posey had three-pointers and sophomore forward Juwann James (Jacksonville, Fla./Raines) had a pair of field goals gave the Dukes a 23-11 lead at the 6:09 mark, and they led 29-22 at halftime.

JMU scored the first 10 points of the final half -- four by James -- to go ahead 39-22 with 15:37 left. Delaware cut the margin to 42-32 at the 10:08 mark before Posey connected for his back-to-back three-pointers. He was four-of-seven on three point tries for the game and finished with 12 points.

Delaware did manage to get to within 48-36 with 7:38 to play, but Curtis assisted on layups by junior forward Terrance Carter (District Heights, Md./Largo) and sophomore guard Colbey Santos (East Wareham, Mass./Tabor Academy) on consecutive JMU possessions and added a free throw at the 5:48 mark for a 53-36 JMU lead.

JMU limited Delaware to 35 percent shooting from the field for the game (14-40) and to 33 percent (5-15) during the second half.

The Blue Hens' 47 points matched the fewest points JMU has allowed in a game during Coach Dean Keener's three-year tenure with the Dukes, and their shooting effort from the field followed eight straight games during which JMU foes shot 46.8 percent or better.

JMU shot 47 percent (20-43) overall and 50 percent from three-point range (7-14) and had a 35-18 rebounding advantage. Delaware had only two offensive rebounds for the game.

JMU's victory margin was its best in a CAA game since beating Towson 87-56 Feb. 19, 2003 at home.

James joined Curtis and Posey in double figure scoring for JMU with 13 points, and Carter had nine points and nine rebounds for the Dukes. The game was the third straight in which Carter had final totals of at least nine points and nine rebounds.

Delaware got a game-high 25 points from junior forward Herb Courtney (Horsham, Pa.), who also had seven rebounds in 39 minutes. Courtney hit on seven of 15 shots form the field and 10 of