JMU GRINDS OUT 60-52 CAA WIN OVER DREXEL

Wednesday, January 26

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7:00 p.m.

James Madison University

16-6, 6-4CAA

Drexel

13-7, 5-5CAA

Drexel

James Madison

1/27/2011 3:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va., Jan. 26, 2011 - James Madison used a key 8-0 run to take the lead and closed the game on a 24-13 swing to defeat Drexel 60-52 in a Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball game Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.

JMU snapped a three-game skid and improved to 16-6 overall, 6-4 in the CAA. Drexel fell to 13-7 overall and 5-5 in the CAA. The game featured a pair of teams tied for fifth in the league standings at the halfway point of the conference season.

JMU trailed 39-36 with 7:01 remaining when it embarked upon its key 8-0 run. Senior forward Denzel Bowles (Virginia Beach, Va./Kempsville) hit a jumper. Moments later a steal by senior guard Ben Louis (Melbourne, Australia/St. Francis Xavier) led to a layup by freshman Chad Jackson (Georgetown, Ky./Scott County) for the first Dukes' lead in eight minutes.

After a missed Drexel free throw, Bowles hit a pair of free throws and added a powerful fastbreak dunk on a pass from Louis to make it 44-39 with 4:16 to go.

Drexel got no closer than three the rest of the way. A Bowles fadeaway 12-footer with 3:04 to go was the last JMU field goal in the game. Chris Fouch answered with a baseline eight-footer in traffic but missed the free throw on the three-point play opportunity.

JMU responded by hitting 14 of its 16 free-throw attempts in the final 1:58, beginning with a pair by sophomore guard Devon Moore (Columbus, Ohio/Northland) on a key technical foul on Drexel coach Bruiser Flint with 1:58 remaining. Altogether, JMU outscored Drexel 24-13 over the final seven minutes.

Bowles led all players with 19 points and added eight rebounds and three blocks for the Dukes. Junior forward Julius Wells (Toledo, Ohio/Libbey) added 13 points, seven boards, and three assists.

Guard Gerald Colds had 16 points to lead the Dragons. Fouch added 12 and Samme Givens narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and 12 points.

JMU won despite not making a three-point field goal in a game (0-for-9) for the first time since losing at Richmond on Jan. 27, 1997. Drexel ranked fifth in the country for three-point percent defense (27.6%) heading into the game.

Both teams struggled from the floor with JMU's outside struggles contributing to a 37.5% showing from the field. Drexel shot 35.8%. The difference came at the line where JMU hit 90% (18-20) while Drexel was 9-for-13 (69.2%).

Another key for the Dukes came on the boards with a 39-34 advantage in rebounding against the nation's fourth-ranked team for rebounding margin (+10.2 entering the game). JMU led in paint points 34-26 and blocked a season-high nine shots compared to none for Drexel.

JMU grabbed an early first-half lead of 12-3 just six minutes into the period. However, the Dukes went cold on long jumpers and committed several turnovers to score just 10 points the rest of the way. With JMU up 18-11, Drexel got a pair of threes from Colds and a tip-in from Dartaye Ruffin to close within one at 20-19.

The Dukes got a fastbreak dunk from Semenov to go back up by three before Ruffin got another lay-in just before the buzzer to make it a 22-21 score at the break.

Both teams struggled from the field with the Dragons hitting 28% of their first-half shots and the Dukes connecting on 34.5% while missing all five three-point attempts.

JMU will be back on the road on Saturday with a 4 p.m. game at Delaware.&nb