Dukes Clamp Down in 62-54 Win at Hofstra

Thursday, January 5

Hempstead, N.Y.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

5-11 (3-0CAA)

Hofstra

9-7 (1-2CAA)

James Madison

Hofstra

1/5/2017 10:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – James Madison continued its best Colonial Athletic Association start in more than 20 years, battling to a big 62-54 road win over Hofstra on Thursday evening at the Mack Sports Complex.

The Dukes are 5-11 (3-0 CAA) after the win, having held the Pride, who entered Thursday averaging 80.1 points per game, to their lowest-scoring performance of the season to date. The victory also marks the first time since 1994-95 that JMU has opened league play with three straight wins.

Senior forward Paulius Satkus his run of efficient production, scoring a team-high 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting in just 16 minutes of court time. The effort marked his third double-digit scoring game in the last four contests.

Senior guard Jackson Kent grabbed five rebounds and picked up four assists to go with his 11 points, his fourth consecutive double-digit effort, while junior guard Joey McLean added 10 points of his own, along with four boards and three assists.

The Dukes jumped ahead early, with Satkus and senior forward Ivan Lukic combining to score the Dukes' first 12 points, eventually stretching the JMU lead to 17-9 at the 10:23 mark. JMU would push its advantage to 10 on two occasions, but Hofstra stormed back, hitting a buzzer-beating three-pointer to send the teams into the break tied at 33.

After halftime, the Dukes would rip off the first seven points of the second stanza to take a lead they would not relinquish. The Pride cut the lead back to one, but after a free throw from junior guard Ramone Snowden put JMU up 59-49, the Dukes would stay ahead by double-digits until a pair of Hofstra free throws with five seconds left.

Justin Wright-Foreman carried the Pride offensively, scoring 25 of Hofstra's 54 points on 8-of-17 shooting across 29 minutes. Seven other players scored for the Pride, but none had more than seven points. The Dukes held Hofstra to just 34.7-percent (17-of-49) shooting from the field, a mark that included a 25-percent (6-of-24) showing from the three-point line, on the game and held the Pride to just seven field goals on 25 shots (28 percent) after halftime.

QUOTING COACH ROWE
"I'm still so proud of the effort these guys are giving. They worked the game plan and hustled and they held a great offense in Hofstra to 54 points to pick up a big road win in the league. The energy we have is great and we've got to just keep it this high moving forward."

NOT SINCE THE BIG WHISTLE PLAYED
JMU's win on Thursday night brings its CAA record to 3-0 for the first time since the 1994-95 season. That campaign saw then-senior and current head coach Louis Rowe average 21.7 points per game on 53.2 percent shooting to lead the Dukes.

UP NEXT
The Dukes close out their brief road swing in Boston on Saturday evening, when they head to Matthews Arena to take on the Huskies at 7 p.m. Northeastern rolled to a 90-54 home win over Delaware on Thursday night, a contest that saw the Huskies make 21 three-pointers.