BOWLES LEADS JMU TO WIN AT GARDNER-WEBB, 78-57

Thursday, December 17

Boiling Springs, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

James Madison University

5-4

Gardner-Webb

3-6

James Madison

Gardner-Webb

12/18/2009 2:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C., Dec. 17, 2009 - Junior forward Denzel Bowles (Virginia Beach, Va./Kempsville) had 37 points and 15 rebounds in his second James Madison game Thursday to lead the Dukes to a 78-57 non-conference men's basketball victory at Gardner-Webb.

Bowles hit on 17 of 25 shots from the field and had 20 of JMU's 31 points in the opening half and 17 after intermission. JMU led 31-29 at halftime after trailing 25-15 and shot 63 percent (17-27) during the final period.

Bowles played for the Dukes for the first time last Saturday (Dec. 12) at Eastern Michigan. He transferred from Texas A&M last January and sat out two JMU semesters in accordance with NCAA rules for transfers.

Freshman guard Darren White (Danville, Va./Dan River) added a career-high 22 points and eight rebounds as JMU improved to 5-4.

Gardner-Webb fell to 3-6.

Bowles scored 16 of JMU's first 21 points, and his points output for the game is the best by a Duke since Abdulai Jalloh (2007-09) had 37 Feb. 9, 2008 at North Carolina Wilmington. He matched the eighth-best game scoring effort in JMU's NCAA varsity basketball history, and no Duke has scored more points in a game since Kent Culuko (1991-95) scored 42 Dec. 22, 1993 against Rutgers. Bowles' scoring effort has been surpassed only three times while JMU has played at the Division I level.

Bowles' 15 rebounds are the most a JMU player has had in a game since Juwann James (2005-09) had 15 Dec. 3, 2005 against Northeastern.

Gardner-Webb had three three-point field goals and took its 10-point lead by the 12:02 mark of the opening half. However, JMU held the Bulldogs scoreless for the period's final 7:57 and got the final eight points of the period to lead 31-29.

Gardner-Webb pulled into a 40-40 tie on a C.J. Hailey layup with 14:20 left in the game, but an 11-1 scoring burst gave JMU control.

A three-point field goal by White put the Dukes in front to stay 43-40, and Bowles had three field goals and freshman guard Alioune Diouf (Powder Springs, Ga./McEachern) one as the Dukes went up 51-41 with 11:16 left.

Gardner-Webb got no closer than seven points - at 51-44 and 53-46 - and the game's final margin was the Dukes' largest lead.

After starting slowly, JMU shot 52.5 percent overall from the field (31-59). The Dukes also had a 49-23 rebounding edge and were credited with 23 assists on their 31 field goals.

Gardner-Webb hit on only nine of 32 field goal attempts during the first half after being nine-of-18 at one point, and the Bulldogs shot only 33.3 percent overall (20-60) from the field. Gardner-Webb had only one three-pointer after the game's opening 12 minutes.

Bowles and White were the Dukes' only double-figure scorers, but junior guard Ben Louis (Melbourne, Australia/St. Francis Xavier) contributed eight assists in 35 minutes and Diouf five. Both assists totals were individual career highs, and Diouf had a career-high five rebounds and matched his career high of 29 minutes.

JMU, because of injuries and illness, had only eight players available for the game. Not available from the team's recent playing roster were redshirt sophom