Dalembert, Brown Power Dukes to 89-75 Win at Marshall

Friday, November 27

Huntington, W.Va.

7:30 p.m.

James Madison University

4-3

Marshall

0-3

James Madison

Marshall

11/27/2015 10:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison got double-doubles from junior guard Shakir Brown and junior forward Yohanny Dalembert and held off a late charge as the Dukes earned an 89-75 win at Marshall in non-conference men's basketball action Friday evening at the Cam Henderson Center.

Madison, which never relinquished the lead after the game's opening bucket, improved to 4-3 on the season, including a 2-1 mark away from home. The Thundering Herd fell to 0-3.

Brown picked up his third double-double in just seven games, tallying 25 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, including six on the offensive end, both career highs. The Baltimore, Md., native needed just 12 shots on the evening, making eight shots from the field, including all three of his three-pointers, and going 6-for-7 from the charity stripe.

Dalembert posted his first double-double of the year, notching career bests with 23 points and 15 boards. The combined efforts marked the first time that JMU had a pair of double-doubles in one game since Denzel Bowles (27p/10r) and Rayshawn Goins (11p/10r) accomplished the feat in a Jan. 24, 2011 overtime loss to Hofstra.

The Dukes flew out of the gate on the offensive end on Friday, opening up a 13-3 lead after just 3:45 and stretching the lead to 37-19 with 6:11 left in the half.

After JMU opened a 46-23 halftime lead on the strength of 50-percent shooting on both field goals (18-for-36) and three-pointers (7-for-14), the Herd mounted a furious charge in the middle of the second half, eventually closing the gap to 13 at the 8:34 mark on the strength of an 18-3 run.

Despite the effort, Marshall would not cut the lead to single digits at any point, only drawing within 10 on one occasion, as the Dukes made eight of their final 10 free throws to put the contest away.

Senior guard Winston Grays III tied his season high with 12 points, while senior guard Ron Curry battled his way to 10 points and a team-high five assists.

QUOTING COACH BRADY
"I think we played almost as well as we can play in the first half. We shot the ball well and rebounded well in the first half. In the second half, I thought they outplayed us. We didn't do a great job of guarding the shooters or drivers and they turned us over too many times. That said, we're excited about the win and looking forward to a happy bus ride home."

HISTORIC SCORER
Senior guard Ron Curry scored 10 points on Friday evening, giving him 1,104 for his career and moving him past Denzel Bowles (2009-11; 1,101) into 23rd on JMU's all-time scoring list. Jamar Perry (1996-2000; 1,123) and Dwayne Broyles (2000-04; 1,137) sit ahead of Curry in 22nd and 21st, respectively.

HALF A HUNDRED REBOUNDS
JMU dominated the rebounding battle on Friday, pulling down 52 boards to Marshall's 33. The effort marked the first time that the Dukes have racked up at least 50 rebounds since grabbing 51 against VMI on Nov. 22, 2006. The pair of 10+ rebound performances from Shakir Brown and Yohanny Dalembert marked the first time a pair of Dukes had grabbed double-digit boards since then-freshman Tom Vodanovich (11) and Taylor Bessick (10) reached that number against Hampton on Dec. 21, 2013.

TWEET OF THE GAME

Maybe @CoachMattBrady will feed his team a turkey dinner before every game after shooting 50% FG and 53% 3FG in tonight's 89-75 win
— Andrew Clay (@WHSVAndrewClay) November 28, 2015

AROUND THE CAA
The Colonial Athletic Association picked up its third win over an Atlantic Coast Conference foe on Friday evening, with Northeastern winning 78-77 at No. 15 Miami on the strength of Quincy Ford's jumper as time expired. College of Charleston also picked up a win for the league on Friday evening, earning a 57-56 win over Western Carolina in Charleston, S.C.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will play their final non-conference road game on Monday, Nov. 30, when they travel to Radford, Va., to take on Radford in a 7 p.m. contest. The Highlanders are 4-2 on the season after consecutive wins at Penn State (86-74) and vs. Prairie View A&M (64-56).

**MORE COVERAGE TO COME**