Dukes Stumble Again

OXFORD, Ohio — It was another bad first half, another loss for James Madison on Saturday.

 

Freshman guard Reggie Johnson scored 21 points as Miami (Ohio) scored 22 of the first 26 points before ultimately taking a 76-58 non-conference victory over the Dukes on Saturday.

 

The loss ends a difficult season-opening road trip for Madison (1-4), including a blowout loss at No. 11 UCLA and dropping two of three at the Legends Classic in Pittsburgh. The Dukes open at home against George Washington on Wednesday, their first of five straight games at the Convocation Center.

 

Senior Devon Moore led James Madison with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting Saturday, including 15 on 5-of-5 in the first half. Senior Rayshawn Goins added 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting and seven rebounds, and freshman guard Ron Curry had a season-high 10 points, including two 3-pointers.

 

Jon Harris began the early scoring spree for Miami with a three-point play, and Johnson and Bill Edwards followed with 3-pointers to give the RedHawks (3-2) a 9-0 lead after just 1 minute, 18 seconds.

Miami led by as many as 19 points in the first half and was up 37-26 at halftime.

 

Johnson scored four of Miami’s first six second-half baskets, including two 3-pointers, as the RedHawks pushed their lead to 16 points, 51-35, with 15:31 remaining.

 

The Dukes never got closer than 10 points after that.

 

JMU shot 38.3 percent (18-of-47) for the game, including 33.3 percent (9-of-27) in the second half. Miami shot 49 percent (25-of-51) for the game and won the rebounding battle 35-28.

 

The Dukes made just 17 of their 28 free throws (60.7 percent) and 5 of 20 3-pointers (25 percent). Five JMU bench players combined to shoot 2-of-18 (11 percent) from the floor.

 

Jon Harris added 15 points and eight rebounds for Miami, Will Felder contributed 12 points and seven rebounds and Quinten Rollins had 10 points and 10 assists. The Redhawks combined for 19 assists, compared to JMU’s seven.

 

JAMES MADISON

Diouf 0-3 0-0 0, Goins 4-7 6-8 14, Curry 4-6 0-0 10, Nation 2-6 4-8 8, Moore 6-7 3-7 17, Davis 1-6 4-5 7, Hood 0-0 0-0 0, Cooke 1-6 0-0 2, Bessick 0-2 0-0 0, Marks 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 18-47 17-28 58.
 

MIAMI (OHIO)

Edwards 1-1 0-0 3, Harris 5-10 2-4 15, Rollins 4-7 2-4 10, Roberts 1-7 7-7 9, Johnson 7-11 2-3 21, McKnight 2-3 0-0 4, Tadlock 0-0 0-0 0, Sullivan 0-2 0-0 0, Felder 5-8 2-2 12, McGhee 0-2 2-2 2, Legarza 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-51 17-22 76.

Halftime—Miami (Ohio) 37-26. 3-Point Goals—James Madison 5-20 (Moore 2-2, Curry 2-3, Davis 1-4, Goins 0-1, Nation 0-3, Cooke 0-3, Marks 0-4), Miami (Ohio) 9-23 (Johnson 5-7, Harris 3-7, Edwards 1-1, McKnight 0-1, Sullivan 0-1, Felder 0-1, Rollins 0-2, Roberts 0-3). Fouled Out—Davis, Johnson. Rebounds—James Madison 28 (Goins 7), Miami (Ohio) 35 (Harris 8). Assists—James Madison 7 (Diouf 3), Miami (Ohio) 19 (Rollins 10). Total Fouls—James Madison 20, Miami (Ohio) 23. A—1,426.