Dukes Drop 78-68 Decision at UNCW

Saturday, February 13

Wilmington, N.C.

3 p.m.

James Madison University

19-8 (9-5CAA)

UNCW

20-5 (12-2CAA)

James Madison

UNCW

2/13/2016 7:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WILMINGTON, N.C. - James Madison could not bounce back from a 20-3 first-half run by UNCW on Saturday afternoon, as the Seahawks handed the Dukes a 78-68 defeat in Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball action at Trask Coliseum.

The Dukes, who fell to 19-8 (9-5 CAA), out-shot UNCW on both field goals (45.1% to 39.3%) and three-pointers (40.0% to 35.7%), but turned the ball over 18 times as the first-place Seahawks improved to 20-5 (12-2 CAA) with their 11th straight win.

Junior forward Tom Vodanovich racked up a season-high 17 points to pace the Dukes, going 6-for-9 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line while pulling down four rebounds. Junior guard Winston Grays III came off the bench to score a season-best 15 points and grab five boards.

After a back-and-forth first half, UNCW used a 20-3 run across 4:38 to turn a 22-21 lead into a 42-24 advantage and put the Dukes in an 18-point hole.

The Dukes scored the final five points of the period and cut the lead to eight on two occasions early in the second half, but the Seahawks pushed the margin back to double digits for the last time at the 10:00 mark and pulled away down the stretch.

Craig Ponder led the way for the Seahawks with 19 points that included a 4-of-8 performance from three, while Chris Flemmings posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Jordon Talley tailed 15 points.

QUOTING COACH BRADY
"I thought that [UNCW] played a terrific game with a lot of energy and toughness. They made it hard on us in a lot of different ways. That spurt from about the 8-minute mark to the 4-minute mark in the first half cost us a chance to be in the game and we never really got back into it, so all credit to them."

AROUND THE CAA
UNCW's win kept it atop the league standings with a 12-2 mark, while Hofstra came back to beat Delaware to remain in second at 10-4. With the Dukes' loss and William & Mary's setback at Towson, JMU, W&M and Towson are all tied for third, one game back of the Pride at 9-5 and two games ahead of sixth-place College of Charleston with two weeks remaining in the regular season.

UP NEXT
The Dukes return home for a pair of games this weekend, beginning with a 7 p.m. contest against Northeastern on Thursday, Feb. 17, at the JMU Convocation Center. The Huskies have won their last two to improve to 14-13 (6-8 CAA) and pull out of a six-game losing streak.