WELLS' THREE-POINT SHOOTING LEADS JMU PAST NORTHEASTERN 75-69

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WELLS' THREE-POINT SHOOTING LEADS JMU PAST NORTHEASTERN 75-69

1/4/2011 1:40:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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HARRISONBURG, Va., Jan. 3, 2011 - Junior forward Julius Wells (Toledo, Ohio/Libbey) tied a school record with nine three-pointers to lead James Madison to a 75-69 win over Northeastern in a Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball game Monday night at the Convocation Center.

JMU, which made its debut in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 at No. 23 just before tip, improved to 11-3 overall and 1-1 in the CAA. The Dukes won their fifth in a row for their second winning streak of the season of at least five games. NU fell to 4-9 overall and 0-2 in the league.

Wells took all 11 of his field-goal attempts beyond the three-point line while hitting nine to tie the school record held by Darren McLinton (2/17/96 vs. VCU) and Kyle Swanston (3/23/09 at Liberty). His nine threes, which included a perfect 5-for-5 in the second half, pushed him past David Fanning (1999-2003) into fourth in career threes with 199. Wells finished with a season-best 28 points and five rebounds.

Senior forward Denzel Bowles (Virginia Beach, Va./Kempsville) fell just shy of his seventh double-double while tallying 19 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. Sophomore guard Devon Moore (Columbus, Ohio/Northland) had 12 assists to top the career high he just set at Kent State with eight. It was the most assists by a JMU player since Pierre Curtis (2006-10) had 12 on Dec. 17, 2007 at Radford.

Sophomore Dinko Marshavelski, who entered the game with 27 career points, posted 23 points, matching his career high in the first four minutes, to go with three blocks to lead Northeastern. Forward Ryan Pierson added 17 points and seven boards while Jonathan Lee added 12.

JMU trailed by as many as eight in the first half at 29-21 with six minutes to go. However, the Dukes cut the margin to four for a 38-34 score at the break.

JMU opened the half on a 12-4 run, which included a 9-0 rally to go from down five to a four-point lead at 46-42 with 14:30 to go. The Dukes maintained the lead the rest of the way, building it to as large as nine at 64-55 on the ninth three by Wells with 6:49 to go.

However, Northeastern made it tight down the stretch by responding with a 9-1 run, capped by an Alex Harris three to make it a one-point game at 65-64 with 2:48 remaining.

Bowles and Marshavelski traded three-point plays in the paint while Moore and Pierson then each hit 1-of-2 free throws to keep it a one-point game at 69-68 with 1:34 to go.

On the next JMU possession, Moore drove the right side of the lane and laid a high runner off the glass to make it 71-68 with 1:17 to go. The Dukes came up with a big stop as a low pass by the Huskies went out of bounds on the right baseline.

Moore then ran the shot clock down on JMU's possession and was forced to call timeout with four seconds on the shot clock and 19 on the game clock. The Dukes came up with a big basket as the entry pass found Bowles at the high post and his turnaround jumper made it a five-point game.

Joel Smith was fouled on the next NU possession and one free throw made it a four-point game. JMU sophomore forward Andrey Semenov (St. Petersburg, Russia/Blue Ridge School) then iced the game with a pair of free throws for the 75-69 final.

JMU will have a short turnaround, continuing CAA action on Wednesday with a 7 p.m. home contest against Towson.

NOTES: At 11-3, JMU is in a four-way tie for its best 14-game record in its Division I history, which dates back to the 1976-77 season... the oth