Hot First Half Lifts JMU over Northeastern in 75-63 Win

Thursday, January 14

Boston, Mass.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

13-5, 3-2CAA

Northeastern

11-7, 3-2CAA

James Madison

Northeastern

1/14/2016 11:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BOSTON, Mass. – James Madison sprinted out to a 15-point halftime lead and held off a second-half charge from Northeastern to earn a 75-63 win over the Huskies in Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball action at Matthews Arena on Thursday night.

The Dukes, who moved to 13-5 (3-2 CAA) with the victory, shot a red-hot 66.7% (16-for-24) from the field in the opening period, a mark that included a remarkable 63.6% (7-for-11) clip from behind the arc. Northeastern fell to 11-7 (3-2 CAA) with its second consecutive loss.

JMU also performed admirably on the defensive end yet again, holding the Huskies to 19-for-53 (35.8%) shooting on the evening, including a 5-for-27 mark on three-pointers. The display marked the sixth time in eight games in which the Dukes held an opponent under 36% shooting from the field.

After the second half started with back-and-forth scoring, Northeastern made its move with an 8-0 run on four straight possessions that cut JMU's lead to 61-55. Six would be the closest the Huskies got, however, as junior guard Jackson Kent immediately drilled a three-pointer from the right corner that ignited a 10-2 run and put the Dukes ahead by double-digits for good.

Senior guard Ron Curry continued a run of stellar all-around play, pouring in 22 points and racking up seven rebounds, four assists and a steal in 38 minutes, while turning the ball over just once. The Pennsauken, N.J., native went 7-for-12 from the field, including 4-for-7 from deep, in an efficient outing.

Junior forward Yohanny Dalembert broke out of a funk in a big way on Thursday, scoring 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting and a 4-for-6 performance at the free throw line. The tally marked Dalembert's first double-digit outing in five CAA games.

Junior guards Jackson Kent and Shakir Brown joined the pair in double figures with 10 points apiece. Kent scored all 10 of his after halftime, while Brown added seven rebounds of his own. The win was just the third for JMU at Matthews Arena and was the first by double-digits.

Jeremy Miller paced the Northeastern offense with 19 points, highlighted by a 10-for-12 performance at the free throw line, while David Walker added 13 and T.J. Williams chipped in 11.

QUOTING COACH BRADY
"We had a great level of consistency throughout our lineup. We had a lot of guys in the game and everybody made some plays for us. This is a couple games in a row that our defense has been really, really good."

CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOK
Senior guard Ron Curry vaulted up three places on JMU's all-time scoring list on Thursday night, moving from 16th in JMU history to 13th with his 22-point performance. Curry, who now has 1,301 points in his standout career, moved past Steve Hood (1,282; 1989-91), George Toliver (1,287; 1969-73) and David Correll (1,298; 1972-76) and sits just behind former teammate Devon Moore (2008-13), who sits in 12th with 1,317.

TWEET OF THE GAME

Great win for @JMUMBasketball at NU! Keep building! #GoDukes
— Jonathan Barrett (@JBear8990) January 15, 2016

HISTORIC DEFENSE
Thursday's defensive performance was just the latest in a string of lockdown games that have the Dukes on pace to set program records in both field goal percentage defense and three-point percentage defense. JMU's opponents are now shooting just 40.2% from the field and a miniscule 29.6% on three-pointers. Both marks would be program-bests if the season ended today, with a 40.5% clip on field goals in 1994-95 and a 30.6% three-point mark in 2008-09 representing the current records.

HOLDING A LEAD
JMU is now 11-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play when it enters halftime with a lead. The Dukes are just 2-5 when they enter the break trailing and have not gone into halftime tied yet this season.

AROUND THE CAA
Hofstra, William & Mary, UNCW and Towson all earned victories on Thursday evening, with Hofstra representing the league's only home win of the night. The slate of results leaves JMU tied for third in the CAA with the best overall record of any team in the league. Only William & Mary and Hofstra, which both have 4-1 marks in conference play, sit ahead of the Dukes.

UP NEXT
JMU closes out its brief northern road trip on Saturday afternoon, when it travels to Hofstra for a 4 p.m. bout on Jan. 16. The Pride have won six of their last seven and are coming off a 69-61 home victory over Drexel on Thursday night.