Second-Half Comeback Falls Just Short in CAA Quarterfinals

Saturday, March 5

Baltimore, Md.

2:30 p.m.

James Madison University

21-11

William & Mary

20-10

#5 William & Mary

#4 James Madison

Second-Half Comeback Falls Just Short in CAA Quarterfinals

3/5/2016 6:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BALTIMORE, Md. - James Madison mounted a furious comeback after halftime, but could not climb out of a 19-point first-half hole, falling to William & Mary, 79-64, in the quarterfinals of the CAA Men's Basketball Championship at Royal Farms Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Senior guard Ron Curry led the way for JMU (21-11, 11-7 CAA) again, notching his third-straight 20+-point performance and his first double-double of the season, scoring 20 points and grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. The Tribe improved to 20-10 on the year.

Sophomore guard Joey McLean and senior guard Winston Grays III proved crucial to JMU's second-half charge, as the pair combined for 20 points after the break on 7-of-10 shooting, including a red-hot 6-of-9 pace from the three-point line. McLean would finish with 13 points to go with four boards and four assists, while Grays added nine points, all in the second half.

In the first half, the Dukes stormed out to a 6-1 lead, but saw their shooting go cold across a 10:42 scoreless stretch. W&M took advantage, scoring 20 straight points to take a 21-6 lead at the 6:55 mark in the first period. JMU would hit three of its final four shots of the half to cut the lead to 31-15 at the break.

JMU trailed by 19 as late as the 9:40 mark in the second half, but battled back with a flurry of long-range shooting. After falling behind, 51-32, the Dukes hit their next five shots, including a pair of three-pointers each from sophomore guard Joey McLean and senior guard Winston Grays III, and sank a pair of free throws to slash the lead to 58-51 with 5:45 to play.

W&M used seven straight points to push the lead back to 14, but JMU again chipped away, eventually cutting the advantage to 69-64 on another three from Grays and a layup from junior forward Tom Vodanovich at the 1:36 mark. On the ensuing inbound play, however, McLean was whistled for his fifth foul on a tie-up and the Tribe was able to make all 10 of their free throws down the stretch to put the game away.

Omar Prewitt racked up a game-high 25 points to lead four double-digit scorers for the Tribe, as Sean Sheldon and Connor Burchfield each tallied 11 and David Cohn added 10. W&M went 23-of-25 from the line as a team and outrebounded the Dukes, 35-33.

W&M advances to tomorrow afternoon's semifinals, where it will face second-seeded Hofstra at 1 p.m.

QUOTING COACH BRADY
"William & Mary was the better basketball team today. We started off well with really good energy and the game changed when we couldn't find the net at any point for about a 12 minute stretch so for us to go for that few points in the first half, we really struggled."