Towson Hands Dukes 69-67 Loss in Physical Battle

Thursday, February 25

Towson, Md.

8 p.m.

James Madison University

20-10, 10-7CAA

Towson

20-10, 11-6CAA

James Madison

Towson

2/25/2016 11:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

TOWSON, Md. - Towson racked up a 17-11 rebounding advantage in the second half to hold off a hard-charging James Madison team, as the Dukes dropped a 69-67 Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball decision at SECU Arena Thursday evening.

Senior guard Ron Curry racked up a remarkable 20 points in the second half for the Dukes, who fell to 20-10 (10-7 CAA) in the loss, but JMU yielded 14 second-chance points after the break as Towson pulled down 11 offensive rebounds to improve to 20-10 (11-6 CAA).

Junior forwards Tom Vodanovich and Yohanny Dalembert also scored in double figures for the Dukes, as Vodanovich tallied 12 points and five boards, while Dalembert grabbed a team-best eight rebounds in an 11-point effort.

The Dukes continued their solid defensive year, holding Towson to 40.4% (23-for-57) shooting from the field and 33.3% (8-for-24) from three, while shooting 49.0% (24-for-49) and 41.2% (7-for-17) from deep.

JMU went into halftime trailing by three (28-25) after a defensive battle in the opening period, but never led in the second half, despite coming with two on four occasions in the first 4:47 of the second half.

After the Tigers pushed their lead to 12 at the 3:41 mark, JMU immediately scored six straight points, including a four-point play from Curry, to cut the advantage to 58-52. The Dukes continued to whittle away, but ran out of time as Towson sank nine of its 10 free throws in the final 1:31 to close things out.

Byron Hawkins used an 11-for-13 effort from the free throw line to lead four double-digit scorers with 16 points. Timajh Parker-Rivera tallied 13 points, while Josh Ivory and Mike Morsell each added 11.

QUOTING COACH BRADY
"We lost a tough game to a remarkably physical Towson team tonight. We did our best to get ready for it, but they're tough to prepare for."

CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOKS
With his 20-point explosion in the second half, senior guard Ron Curry now has 1,509 across his four-year career. That total makes him the sixth-ever JMU player to surpass 1,500 career points and moves him into fifth all-time at JMU, passing William Davis (1988-93), who scored 1,505. Darren McLinton sits in fourth, with 1,533 from 1992-96.

AROUND THE CAA
After Thursday's action, the Dukes are in sole possession of fifth place in the league, one game behind William & Mary, their opponent in Saturday's regular-season finale, and Towson. Hofstra came back to beat first-place UNCW, 70-69, to enter into a tie at the top at 13-4.

UP NEXT
The Dukes welcome in-state rival William & Mary to the Convocation Center at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon for the regular-season finale. The Tribe enter the weekend with a 19-9 (11-6 CAA) mark after handing Elon a 75-65 loss Thursday evening.

Prior to Saturday's contest, which will be televised on NBC Sports, JMU will recognize its two seniors, Ron Curry and Winston Grays III in a brief ceremony.