Curry's 31 Highlights Overtime Win over Hofstra

Sunday, February 7

Harrisonburg, Va.

3 p.m.

James Madison University

18-7, 8-4CAA

Hofstra

16-8, 8-4CAA

OT 1

Hofstra

James Madison

2/7/2016 6:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Senior guard Ron Curry hit a game-tying three-pointer with 12.3 seconds left in regulation and James Madison went on to capture a 98-95 overtime win over Hofstra in Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball action on Sunday afternoon at the JMU Convocation Center.

The Dukes, who came back from a deficit of 14 points to complete their biggest comeback of the season, improved to 18-7 (8-4 CAA) with the victory, after shooting 54.8% (17-for-31) from the field and 53.8% (7-for-13) in the second half. Hofstra dropped to 16-8 (8-4 CAA) in the loss, its second overtime defeat at the hands of the Dukes this season.

Curry's big shot was the high mark of a career day for the senior, as he racked up 31 points, breaking his career high, on 9-of-16 shooting and 7-of-12 from the three-point line. The effort was Curry's 17th straight double-digits scoring night and the 74th of his career, but marked the first time the Pennsauken, N.J. native had cleared the 30-point barrier.

Junior forward Yohanny Dalembert continued his resurgence with his second straight double-double, tallying 15 points and pulling down 13 boards, including five on the offensive end, in a season-high 32 minutes. Dalembert added three blocks, two assists and a pair of steals to his evening.

Hofstra jumped out to an early advantage thanks to a hot-shooting first half that saw the Pride go 9-of-19 (47.4%) from the three-point line and take a 46-34 advantage into the break.

Out of halftime, however, the Dukes ripped off a 20-4 run across the first 5:33 to storm back and take a 54-50 lead at the 14:27 mark. After a back-and-forth couple of minutes, Hofstra took the lead back and stretched the advantage to as many as 10 at the 6:16 mark and nine with just 3:34 to play.

The Dukes battled back, however, using a 7-1 run to cut things to 82-79. After Dalembert pulled down a rebound on a three-pointer from Juan'ya Green, junior guard Shakir Brown fired a near-miss from the right corner that Dalembert rebounded, as well.

Dalembert turned and found Curry on the left wing and the senior drilled a leaning three-pointer under pressure to complete the comeback with just 12.3 seconds to play. Hofstra's three-point attempt then missed to the right as time expired.

In the extra period, the Dukes never trailed, as they leapt out to an 87-82 lead on a jumper from junior guard Jackson Kent and a three from the right corner and never looked back. Hofstra kept things close with a trio of deep three-pointers, but JMU went 6-of-8 from the charity stripe in the final minute to close out the comeback victory.

Three other players joined Curry and Dalembert in double figures, with Brown leading the way with 15 points, including eight points on 3-of-3 shooting in overtime, six rebounds and four assists. Sophomore guard Joey McLean added 13 points and six assists, while Kent chipped in 10 points.

Three players notched double-doubles for Hofstra, as the five Pride starters all played at least 40 minutes in the loss. Rokas Gustys (13 points/18 rebounds), Denton Koon (19p/13r) and Ameen Tanksley (19p/10r) all pulled off the feat, while Juan'ya Green finished just short, with 20 points and eight assists.

QUOTING COACH BRADY
"We won a thrilling game against a really talented, offensively potent, explosive Hofstra team. I thought they made some extraordinary shots and it took everything that we had to pull out the win today."

PLAY OF THE GAME

Senior guard Ron Curry drilled this three-pointer to tie things at 82-82 and give the Dukes a chance to win the game in overtime.

CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOKS
With his career evening, senior guard Ron Curry moved into eighth in all-time scoring at JMU. His 31 points gives him 1,435 for his career, lifting him past Julius Wells (1,414; 2008-12) and leaving him just 21 points shy of Juwann James (1,456; 2005-09) in seventh place.

TWEET OF THE GAME

TFW you're eighth on JMU's all-time scoring list and you just cut a 12-point lead to four in just three minutes: pic.twitter.com/1gZGQT2RzA
— JMU Men's Basketball (@JMUMBasketball) February 7, 2016

AROUND THE CAA
With their win, the Dukes are now tied for third in the league with an 8-4 record in the conference. UNCW still sits atop the standings at 10-2, with William & Mary one game back at 9-3.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will make their swing through the Carolinas this weekend, heading to College of Charleston for a 7:30 p.m. contest on Thursday, Feb. 11, before heading to UNCW for a 3 p.m. matinee on Saturday, Feb. 13. Charleston has won four straight home games to improve to 15-8 (7-5 CAA) on the year.