Dukes Open Final Home Weekend Against Elon

Thursday, February 20

Harrisonburg, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

Elon

2/19/2020 8:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball

James Madison Dukes (9-16, 2-12 CAA) vs. Elon Phoenix (10-18, 6-9 CAA)

February 20, 2020 -- 7:00 PM

Harrisonburg, Va. -- JMU Convocation Center

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James Madison will play its penultimate game in the Convocation Center, its home of 38 years, on Thursday evening when the Dukes welcome Elon to Harrisonburg for a 7 p.m. matchup.
Last Saturday, junior Matt Lewis tallied a game-high 24 points, but a stingy Towson defense handed the Dukes a 63-48 loss at the Convo. Junior Dwight Wilson added 12 points, all in the second half, to go with eight boards. The Tigers held JMU to just 34.5% shooting from the floor and a 6-of-22 performance from behind the arc in the loss.
Heading into JMU's second matchup with the Phoenix, junior Matt Lewis leads the way with 18.9 points per game, while junior Darius Banks adds 12.6 points and junior Dwight Wilson is averaging a double-double at 10.4 points and 10.2 boards.
Wilson's rebounding currently ranks third in the league as one of just three players averaging double digits, and his 52.4% clip from the field is third in the CAA, while sophomore Deshon Parker is second in the CAA in assist-turnover ratio at 1.8.
Lewis has scored in double digits against Elon in all five matchups throughout his career, peaking with his 33-point outburst earlier this season that pushed his scoring average against the Phoenix to 17.4ppg to go with his 3.8 rebounds per contest.
Heading into the season, JMU welcomed a six-member freshman class, including forward Michael Christmas, Dalton Jefferson and Julien Wooden, as well as guards Zyon Dobbs, Jayvis Harvey and Quinn Richey.

SCOUTING THE PHOENIX

Elon has won four of its last five contests, including wins over UNCW and Charleston on the road and a 75-70 Senior Night win over Drexel last Saturday that brought them to 10-18 (6-9 CAA) on the season and just 1.5 games out of sixth in the league standings.
Graduate student Marcus Sheffield II continues to lead the revitalized Elon attack, racking up 18.5 points per contests to lead the Phoenix, who currently lead the league and rank eighth in the country with 10.0 made three-pointers per game.

SERIES HISTORY

Thursday evening's matchup, the Phoenix' final trip to the Convocation Center, will be just the 13th time that the two schools have faced each other. Elon has won threre straight to cut the Dukes' series lead to 7-5, but JMU still holds a 4-2 advantage on its home court.
Aside from the two programs' first meeting during the 1975-76 season, every other matchup between JMU and Elon has come since the Phoenix joined the CAA prior to the 2014-15 campaign.
In the meeting earlier this year, junior Matt Lewis racked up a season-high 33 points, but the Dukes could not battle out of a 39-24 halftime hole as the Phoenix took down JMU at the Schar Center, 82-73. Lewis added five rebounds to his scoring effort, while freshman Julien Wooden chipped in 10 points, four rebounds and three assists in the loss.

PROMOTIONS