JMU HOLDS ON AGAINST SETON HALL 70-64

Monday, December 22

Harrisonburg, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

7-4

Seton Hall

8-3

Seton Hall

James Madison

12/22/2008 5:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va., Dec. 22, 2008 ? James Madison rallied in the game's final minutes after Seton Hall fought back from a 21-point deficit as JMU pulled out the 70-64 men's basketball victory on Monday night at the Convocation Center.

JMU won its third game in a row for the first time this season to improve to 7-4. It was the Dukes' first win against a Big East team since Dec. 5, 2001 in a 91-75 decision over West Virginia at the Convo. SHU fell to 8-3 after losing consecutive games for the first time following an 8-1 start. The Pirates lost to Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) on Saturday, 67-65.

The Dukes and Pirates met last year in Newark with JMU leading by 19 in the second half only to see SHU battle back for the overtime win. This time James Madison built a 21-point advantage in the first half at 40-19 only to see Seton Hall scrape back and take its first lead at 56-55 with 7:27 remaining. However, the Dukes managed to hang close and broke a 64-64 tie by making six of eight free throws down the stretch to pull out the 70-64 win.

Four players scored between 11 and 14 points in a balanced JMU scoring effort. Senior forward Juwann James (Jacksonville, Fla./Raines) had 14 points and six rebounds off the bench. Senior forward Kyle Swanston (Spring Hill, Fla./Hernando) had 12 points and six boards while freshman guard Devon Moore (Columbus, Ohio/Northland) added 12 points, four boards, and four assists. Freshman forward Julius Wells (<>