TRIBE RALLIES TO BEAT JMU MEN IN CAA TOURNAMENT

Saturday, March 6

Richmond, Va.

8:30 p.m.

James Madison University

13-20

William and Mary

21-9

James Madison

William and Mary

3/7/2010 5:31:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

RICHMOND, Va., March 6, 2010 - Danny Sumner and David Schneider combined for 32 second-half points Saturday as William & Mary rallied for a 70-65 victory over James Madison in the quarterfinals of the Virginia 529 College Savings Plan Colonial Athletic Association Men's Basketball Tournament at the Richmond Coliseum.

JMU shot 54.2 percent while building a 33-24 halftime lead and held a 44-30 margin with 15:37 to play before scoring only 10 points over the next 14:08. William & Mary by that time led 63-54 and had all but secured a position in Sunday's tournament semifinals.

The third-seeded Tribe, which raised its record to 21-9 after having a first-round tournament bye, will play second-seeded Northeastern in Sunday's 5:30 p.m. semifinal game. Northeastern advanced with a 74-71 double-overtime victory over seventh-seeded Hofstra Saturday. Top-seeded Old Dominion and fifth-seeded Virginia Commonwealth will meet in Sunday's 3 p.m. semifinal.

JMU, which had beaten sixth-seeded Drexel 77-65 in Friday's first round, fell to 13-20 for the season. The Dukes were the tournament's No. 11 seed.

Schneider had 14 of his game-high 23 points after halftime Saturday, and Sumner scored 18 of his 22 during the final period. They combined for seven second-half three-point field goals and 10 overall.

Schneider hit on six of nine shots from the field overall, all three-point tries, and on five of six free throws during the game's final 58 seconds. Summer hit on only two of seven first-half shots but connected on seven of 11 attempts during the final period, including four of seven three-point tries.

Sumner started William & Mary's comeback with a three-pointer to cut the JMU lead to 44-33 with 15:23 left, and Schneider had a three at 14:31 to get the Tribe to within 44-36. Sumner's third three-pointer of the final half put William & Mary in front 53-52 with 5:06 to play, and Schneider hit an off-balanced three-pointer with the shot clock expiring for a 58-54 William & Mary edge at 3:26.

Quinn McDowell followed with a layup and a free throw for the Tribe after a JMU miss, raising the lead to 61-54 at 2:43, and JMU didn't get closer five points again.

The Dukes had only three field goals while William & Mary was going from the 44-30 deficit to its 63-54 lead, and the Tribe had only one turnover during the second half.

During the opening half JMU junior forward Denzel Bowles (Virginia Beach, Va./Kempsville) had 11 points on five-of-six shooting and sophomore forward Julius Wells (Toledo, Ohio/Libbey) nine points, hitting on three of four attempts from three-point range. Bowles, however, was limited to two field goal attempts (hitting one) and Wells to a three-pointer and two free throws after halftime. Neither had a field goal during the final 15 minutes.

JMU shot 50 percent (24-48) overall but only 25 percent (5-20) from three-point range. The Dukes had a 37-28 rebounding edge but turned the ball over 12 times to William & Mary's five.

William & Mary hit on 23 of 57 shots overall (40 percent) and on 11 of 36 three-point tries (31 percent).

Bowles finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds, Wells with 14 points, and freshman guard Darren White (Danville, Va./D