JMU Loses Fast
Moore Plays In Loss To GSU; Hampton Next For Madison
Posted: January 7, 2013
Special Correspondent
ATLANTA — James Madison received some good news when point guard Devon Moore flew to Atlanta Saturday morning to play for the Dukes after missing the previous game to be with his ill mother in Ohio.
The positive vibes for JMU didn’t carry over into the game, though.
Poor first-half shooting led to a 14-point deficit at the break and the Dukes were never able to recover as they fell to Georgia State 68-52 in a Colonial Athletic Association matchup. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for JMU, which dropped to 7-7 overall and 1-1 in the CAA.
Moore missed Wednesday’s game at Old Dominion, but he rejoined the Dukes after arriving in Atlanta separate from the team Saturday morning. He had little impact against Georgia State, registering just four points and two assists off the bench.
“He didn’t have a great game,” JMU coach Matt Brady said of Moore, who hadn’t practiced in two weeks. “He hadn’t been involved in the game-planning at all and so we didn’t expect a lot out of him. But the emotional boost he brings to the team is huge and we definitely are glad to have him back.”
Going into the game against the Panthers, Moore was averaging 11.2 points per game and led the conference in assists with 4.6 per game, but he had not played since Dec. 23.
“I was very happy to be out there,” Moore said. “I was pretty rusty and didn’t have things go my way. But I am so glad to be back with the team.”
JMU will be favored to start another winning streak today when it visits Hampton (2-10) at 7 p.m.
Although the Dukes defeated Hampton 74-67 in a reasonably close game last year in Harrisonburg, this season’s edition of the Pirates is one of the nation’s weakest teams. As of Sunday evening, Hampton had the worst RPI among the NCAA’s 347 Division I teams, according to RealtimeRPI.com.
The Pirates were Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions in 2011 but have obviously struggled since. They went 12-21 last season.
In his post-game radio interview Saturday, Brady said that he told his team, “in a loud volume,” that “we’ve not arrived yet. We’ve done nothing.” He also warned the Dukes that Hampton – despite its poor record – would be another tough opponent.
Hampton has lost its last three games – at home against Northern Kentucky (which is transitioning to Division I), at Winthrop (a team JMU defeated 71-61 last month) and at South Carolina-Upstate.
The only Pirate averaging double figures in scoring is freshman guard Deron Powers, who is shooting just 35.6 percent to get his 10.5 points per game. Hampton shoots 36.6 percent from the floor – one of the worst marks in the country.
Ragged offense has been the Pirates’ major flaw this season. They average just 56.6 points per game.
Defensively, though, Hampton is solid. It limits opponents to 62.9 points a night while forcing turnovers on a whopping 24 percent of its opponents’ possessions. The Pirates also block 5.1 shots per game, which is something JMU might be weary of after seeing nine of its shots blocked Saturday at Georgia State.
In Saturday’s game, JMU shot just 29.6 percent in the first half while the Panthers shot 53.8 percent. That discrepancy allowed Georgia State to build a lead as big as 17 points early in the second half. The Dukes cut their deficit to single digits multiple times but couldn’t get closer than nine points the entire second half despite playing even with the Panthers for the final 20 minutes.
After an 0-for-6 performance in the first half, JMU forward Rayshawn Goins flourished in the second half. The senior finished with a game-high 19 points and career-high 16 rebounds. Georgia State has struggled with physical forwards who rebound well, and Goins dominated the glass the entire afternoon.
“Rayshawn wasn’t ready for the speed of the game in the first half,” Brady said. “In the second half, he was terrific. But the story of the game was that they played significantly better than us in the first half.”
A.J. Davis was the only other Madison player to reach double figures, scoring 10 points.
Freshman guard R.J. Hunter sparked Georgia State (6-9, 1-1) in the first half, scoring 13 points on 4-for-4 shooting, all from 3-point range. Hunter cooled off in the second half but finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. Junior forward Manny Atkins, a transfer from Virginia Tech, added 15 points and seven boards.
James Vincent, a 6-foot-10, 260-pound senior center scored 10 points and blocked eight shots. Devonta White added 11 points and seven assists for the Panthers, who snapped a five-game losing skid.
The Dukes spent Saturday night in Atlanta before flying to Norfolk on Sunday for today’s game.
DN-R sports writer Mark Selig contributed to this story
JAMES MADISON
Goins 7-14 5-8 19, Curry 2-9 1-2 6, Cooke 0-2 2-2 2, Diouf 3-7 0-0 6, Nation 1-9 1-2 4, Davis 3-7 2-2 10, Bessick 0-1 0-0 0, Moore 1-6 3-6 5. Totals 17-55 14-22 52.
GEORGIA STATE
Atkins 6-9 1-1 15, Vincent 4-8 2-4 10, White 3-8 5-6 11, Hunter 7-13 1-5 19, Richardson 2-5 0-0 6, R. Green 0-0 0-0 0, Travers 2-6 1-2 7, Solomon 0-1 0-0 0, Shipes 0-0 0-0 0, Crider 0-0 0-0 0, Burguillos 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-51 10-18 68.
Halftime—Georgia St. 38-24. 3-Point Goals—James Madison 4-19 (Davis 2-5, Nation 1-4, Curry 1-6, Cooke 0-2, Diouf 0-2), Georgia St. 10-21 (Hunter 4-7, Atkins 2-2, Richardson 2-3, Travers 2-5, White 0-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—James Madison 38 (Goins 16), Georgia St. 36 (Atkins 8). Assists—James Madison 7 (Moore 2), Georgia St. 14 (White 7). Total Fouls—James Madison 15, Georgia St. 17. A—1,030.
The positive vibes for JMU didn’t carry over into the game, though.
Poor first-half shooting led to a 14-point deficit at the break and the Dukes were never able to recover as they fell to Georgia State 68-52 in a Colonial Athletic Association matchup. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for JMU, which dropped to 7-7 overall and 1-1 in the CAA.
Moore missed Wednesday’s game at Old Dominion, but he rejoined the Dukes after arriving in Atlanta separate from the team Saturday morning. He had little impact against Georgia State, registering just four points and two assists off the bench.
“He didn’t have a great game,” JMU coach Matt Brady said of Moore, who hadn’t practiced in two weeks. “He hadn’t been involved in the game-planning at all and so we didn’t expect a lot out of him. But the emotional boost he brings to the team is huge and we definitely are glad to have him back.”
Going into the game against the Panthers, Moore was averaging 11.2 points per game and led the conference in assists with 4.6 per game, but he had not played since Dec. 23.
“I was very happy to be out there,” Moore said. “I was pretty rusty and didn’t have things go my way. But I am so glad to be back with the team.”
JMU will be favored to start another winning streak today when it visits Hampton (2-10) at 7 p.m.
Although the Dukes defeated Hampton 74-67 in a reasonably close game last year in Harrisonburg, this season’s edition of the Pirates is one of the nation’s weakest teams. As of Sunday evening, Hampton had the worst RPI among the NCAA’s 347 Division I teams, according to RealtimeRPI.com.
The Pirates were Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions in 2011 but have obviously struggled since. They went 12-21 last season.
In his post-game radio interview Saturday, Brady said that he told his team, “in a loud volume,” that “we’ve not arrived yet. We’ve done nothing.” He also warned the Dukes that Hampton – despite its poor record – would be another tough opponent.
Hampton has lost its last three games – at home against Northern Kentucky (which is transitioning to Division I), at Winthrop (a team JMU defeated 71-61 last month) and at South Carolina-Upstate.
The only Pirate averaging double figures in scoring is freshman guard Deron Powers, who is shooting just 35.6 percent to get his 10.5 points per game. Hampton shoots 36.6 percent from the floor – one of the worst marks in the country.
Ragged offense has been the Pirates’ major flaw this season. They average just 56.6 points per game.
Defensively, though, Hampton is solid. It limits opponents to 62.9 points a night while forcing turnovers on a whopping 24 percent of its opponents’ possessions. The Pirates also block 5.1 shots per game, which is something JMU might be weary of after seeing nine of its shots blocked Saturday at Georgia State.
In Saturday’s game, JMU shot just 29.6 percent in the first half while the Panthers shot 53.8 percent. That discrepancy allowed Georgia State to build a lead as big as 17 points early in the second half. The Dukes cut their deficit to single digits multiple times but couldn’t get closer than nine points the entire second half despite playing even with the Panthers for the final 20 minutes.
After an 0-for-6 performance in the first half, JMU forward Rayshawn Goins flourished in the second half. The senior finished with a game-high 19 points and career-high 16 rebounds. Georgia State has struggled with physical forwards who rebound well, and Goins dominated the glass the entire afternoon.
“Rayshawn wasn’t ready for the speed of the game in the first half,” Brady said. “In the second half, he was terrific. But the story of the game was that they played significantly better than us in the first half.”
A.J. Davis was the only other Madison player to reach double figures, scoring 10 points.
Freshman guard R.J. Hunter sparked Georgia State (6-9, 1-1) in the first half, scoring 13 points on 4-for-4 shooting, all from 3-point range. Hunter cooled off in the second half but finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. Junior forward Manny Atkins, a transfer from Virginia Tech, added 15 points and seven boards.
James Vincent, a 6-foot-10, 260-pound senior center scored 10 points and blocked eight shots. Devonta White added 11 points and seven assists for the Panthers, who snapped a five-game losing skid.
The Dukes spent Saturday night in Atlanta before flying to Norfolk on Sunday for today’s game.
DN-R sports writer Mark Selig contributed to this story
JAMES MADISON
Goins 7-14 5-8 19, Curry 2-9 1-2 6, Cooke 0-2 2-2 2, Diouf 3-7 0-0 6, Nation 1-9 1-2 4, Davis 3-7 2-2 10, Bessick 0-1 0-0 0, Moore 1-6 3-6 5. Totals 17-55 14-22 52.
GEORGIA STATE
Atkins 6-9 1-1 15, Vincent 4-8 2-4 10, White 3-8 5-6 11, Hunter 7-13 1-5 19, Richardson 2-5 0-0 6, R. Green 0-0 0-0 0, Travers 2-6 1-2 7, Solomon 0-1 0-0 0, Shipes 0-0 0-0 0, Crider 0-0 0-0 0, Burguillos 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-51 10-18 68.
Halftime—Georgia St. 38-24. 3-Point Goals—James Madison 4-19 (Davis 2-5, Nation 1-4, Curry 1-6, Cooke 0-2, Diouf 0-2), Georgia St. 10-21 (Hunter 4-7, Atkins 2-2, Richardson 2-3, Travers 2-5, White 0-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—James Madison 38 (Goins 16), Georgia St. 36 (Atkins 8). Assists—James Madison 7 (Moore 2), Georgia St. 14 (White 7). Total Fouls—James Madison 15, Georgia St. 17. A—1,030.