Dukes Fall in 64-54 Decision at Northeastern

Saturday, January 7

Boston, Mass.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

5-12, 3-1CAA

Northeastern

11-5, 4-0CAA

James Madison

Northeastern

1/7/2017 10:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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

BOSTON, Mass. - James Madison turned in another stellar defensive effort on Saturday evening, but a slew of turnovers and second chance points propelled Northeastern past the Dukes in a 64-54 Colonial Athletic Association contest at Matthews Arena.

The Dukes, who saw their four-game winning streak snapped as they fell to 5-12 (3-1 CAA), turned the ball over 19 times, most in the last six games. Northeastern (11-5, 4-0 CAA) won its seventh game in a row with the help of 13 second chance points off of 12 offensive rebounds.

Senior forward Yohanny Dalembert was dominant off the bench for the Dukes, racking up 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting and pulling down four rebounds, while junior guard Joey McLean scored 12 of his own and senior guard Jackson Kent added 11.

Though the Dukes did not lead after the 10:46 mark of the first half, JMU was never out of the contest. After falling behind by 11 (34-23) with 18:13 to play, the Dukes made their biggest move of the evening as they used a 9-1 run to cut the lead to three at the 13:28 mark.

The Huskies immediately responded with a 7-0 run of their own to push the lead back to double-digits, but the Dukes battled back to make it 47-41 with 6:06 left. However, Northeastern would use another 7-0 run to take a 54-41 lead with 4:40 to play and used free throws to keep JMU at bay for the remainder of the contest.

Northeastern guard T.J. Williams led the way with a game-high 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and has now scored at least 16 points in all 16 of the Huskies' contests this season.

QUOTING COACH ROWE
"On the road, against a really good team, you can't turn the ball over like we did. It just takes you right out of what you're trying to do. Our defense played really well tonight to keep us in it and we shot the ball well, we just gave them too many extra possessions. We'll work hard back at home this week to get better for Thursday night."

UP NEXT
The Dukes return home next weekend for a pair of games against the southern half of the CAA. College of Charleston, who downed Hofstra at home on Saturday to improve to 13-4 (4-0 CAA), comes to Harrisonburg for a 7 p.m. contest on Thursday, Jan. 12, while Elon (9-8, 1-3 CAA) visits at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14.