Dukes Tripped by Hot-Shooting UNCW

Thursday, January 26

Harrisonburg, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

6-16, 4-5CAA

UNCW

20-2, 9-0CAA

UNCW

James Madison

1/26/2017 9:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score @JMUMBasketball 2016-17 Schedule 2016-17 Statistics Video Recap

HARRISONBURG, Va. - James Madison had five players score in double-digits on Thursday evening, but UNCW sank 16 three-pointers to hand the Dukes an 87-76 loss in Colonial Athletic Association action at the JMU Convocation Center.

The Dukes (6-16, 4-5 CAA) posted their best scoring performance since a Dec. 31 win over Drexel, but the Seahawks (20-2, 9-0 CAA) shot 55.2 percent (32-of-58) from the field, including a blistering 65.5 percent (19-of-29) in the second half.

Senior guard Jackson Kent led the attack for the Dukes again, going 9-of-14 from the field en route to 23 points, his fifth game of the season with 20 or more points. Senior guard Shakir Brown erupted for 18 points, while senior forward Paulius Satkus continued his solid play with 15 points and a team-high six boards.

Junior guards Ramone Snowden and Joey McLean joined the trio in double figures with 10 points apiece, marking the first time since an overtime win over Hofstra on Feb. 7, 2016, that five Dukes have scored in double figures in the same game.

UNCW had six players in double figures, with senior Chris Flemmings leading the way with 18 on 7-of-10 shooting, including a 4-of-7 evening from behind the arc. Sophomore forward Devontae Cacok racked up 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting to go with a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Dukes erased multiple leads across the contest, cutting a 13-point first-half lead to just three with 4:42 to play in the opening stanza, then taking the lead at 39-38 with 18:45 to play.

JMU trailed by just one with 12:17 to play (54-53), but the Seahawks used a 19-5 run to push their lead to 73-58 with 7:07 on the clock. That would be UNCW's largest advantage, but the Dukes were not able to close within 10 for the remainder of the contest.

QUOTING COACH ROWE
"I know I'm repeating myself, but we had great effort tonight. The guys have continued to fight. We got a little tired down the stretch, but UNCW is a really good team that does that to people. We'll keep fighting with these guys."

CAA STANDINGS
9-0 | UNCW
7-2 | Col. of Charleston
5-4 | Elon
5-4 | Towson
5-4 | Northeastern
4-4 | William & Mary
4-5 | James Madison
2-6 | Drexel
2-7 | Hofstra
1-8 | Delaware

UP NEXT
The Dukes will hit the road for the weekend, heading to Delaware for a 7 p.m. contest on Saturday, Jan. 28. On Thursday, the Blue Hens dropped an 82-58 decision at William & Mary to fall to 8-14 (1-8 CAA).