JMU Now 10-10
Davis, Goins Fuel 64-50 Win
Posted: January 24, 2013
HARRISONBURG — Seven minutes into Wednesday’s basketball game against Delaware, James Madison reserve A.J. Davis collected a defensive rebound, zoomed up the floor, coasted through the lane and delivered a two-handed jam, capping a 12-0 run with a SportsCenter-worthy move. In the final five minutes, Davis finished a vicious alley-oop that gave Madison a 21-point lead – its largest of the night.
The Dukes simply reach a higher gear when they play on their Convocation Center floor.
After consecutive road losses, JMU displayed the type of effort that was seemingly missing last week, thumping Delaware 64-50 before a sparse crowd in a Colonial Athletic Association matchup that featured plenty of highlights by the Dukes.
Davis scored a game-best 16 points, forward Rayshawn Goins had 15 points and 13 rebounds, and point guard Devon Moore finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists as JMU (10-10 overall, 3-3 in the CAA) improved to 6-2 at home, including a perfect 3-0 in league play.
All three JMU seniors suffered flu-like symptoms – Davis and Goins each brought a liter of orange juice into the post-game press conference – but finding energy on the court seemed to be no problem.
“I mean, we’re a good home team,” Goins said. “And today we came out with a lot of energy. … I felt like they wasn’t ready for us. We came out and got stops – I mean, they shot terrible from the field – we got stops and we was able to get a lot of easy buckets at the rim in transition in the first half. That kind of picked up our momentum for the first half, and we kept it on them.”
Delaware (8-11, 3-3) entered as the CAA’s most prolific offense, averaging 69.3 points per game. But the Blue Hens shot a paltry 28.9 percent from the floor, and that was after making their final four field goals during garbage time. If not for a late 3-pointer by guard Devon Saddler, UDel would have suffered its most lopsided loss in 18 all-time meetings with the Dukes.
Saddler, the CAA’s leading scorer at 19.5 points per game, paced the Blue Hens with 16, but said the Dukes were “out-toughing us,” noting JMU’s 18 offensive rebounds.
The Dukes made just a third of their shots, yet dominated because of their knees-to-the-floor hustle. They were quicker to 50-50 balls, outrebounded the Hens 48-32 and outscored them 15-2 on second-chance points. On one first-half possession, JMU scored a fifth-chance point when Andre Nation put back his own miss after three other misfires.
“Home and road, I don’t exactly what the difference is with our team,” JMU coach Matt Brady said. “When we go on the road, it’s not quite the same on the glass, but at home, we’ve been good protecting the lane and we’ve been good getting bodies on guys.”
In eight home games, JMU is averaging 69.4 points and allowing 57.2.
James Madison got big production off its bench, including Davis’ prolific night and nine rebounds from freshman forward Taylor Bessick.
The Dukes neutralized Blue Hens senior forward Jamelle Hagins, who had a field day during a Delaware win at the Convo last year. In that game a season ago, Hagins went for 23 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks. On Wednesday, he finished with four points, four rebounds, four turnovers and four fouls.
“I didn’t feel like they did anything different, did anything to stop me,” Hagins said. “I just feel like I had a bad game. I was doing some things out of character.”
Delaware coach Monté Ross offered a succinct and apt account of Wednesday’s game.
“They clearly outplayed us,” he said softly. “Outplayed us, outhustled us, outcoached us.”
It started early. Delaware led 6-2 in the opening minutes before JMU scored the next dozen points, the final two in spectacular fashion.
Asked if his early dunk provided a spark, Davis, who’s been maddeningly inconsistent this year and scored just 11 points in the previous three games combined, said it inspired his whole team.
“Not even me, just my team in general,” Davis said. “I was just happy to get a dunk. My teammates feed off that.”
And they feed off their own arena, even though it was only about a third full, with 2,605 fans in attendance. Four of the Dukes’ next fives games are at home, starting Saturday against Old Dominion – the only team still winless in CAA play.
They’d love to get the same type of performance from Davis, the talented sixth-year transfer who has been an enigma to his coaching staff this year.
“You can see what an impact he can have on the game, but I have no idea how he’s going to play on Saturday,” Brady said. “I do think that he moved better without the ball. Probably the first time that he’s moved that well without the ball. He’s clearly got the athletic ability to make plays in the open court that kind of make your head spin a little bit. The dunk in the first half was really something. But we just need him to be consistent, and that’s a challenge for him.”
DELAWARE
Brinkley 2-5 3-4 7, Hagins 1-5 2-2 4, Threatt 1-9 9-12 12, Saddler 5-12 5-6 16, Anderson 0-5 2-2 2, Rogers 1-4 0-1 3, Savage 0-0 0-0 0, King-Davis 1-1 0-0 2, Baptiste 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 13-45 21-27 50.
JAMES MADISON
Diouf 0-6 1-4 1, Goins 3-10 7-8 15, Curry 1-7 2-2 4, Nation 4-8 2-2 12, Moore 3-9 3-3 10, Davis 7-11 1-2 16, Hood 1-7 0-0 2, Bessick 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 21-63 16-21 64.
Halftime—James Madison 29-18. 3-Point Goals—Delaware 3-12 (Threatt 1-2, Rogers 1-3, Saddler 1-4, Anderson 0-3), James Madison 6-14 (Nation 2-3, Goins 2-4, Davis 1-2, Moore 1-2, Curry 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Delaware 32 (Brinkley, Saddler 6), James Madison 48 (Goins 13). Assists—Delaware 8 (Saddler 3), James Madison 17 (Curry, Moore 6). Total Fouls—Delaware 16, James Madison 18. Technical—Brinkley. A—2,605.
The Dukes simply reach a higher gear when they play on their Convocation Center floor.
After consecutive road losses, JMU displayed the type of effort that was seemingly missing last week, thumping Delaware 64-50 before a sparse crowd in a Colonial Athletic Association matchup that featured plenty of highlights by the Dukes.
Davis scored a game-best 16 points, forward Rayshawn Goins had 15 points and 13 rebounds, and point guard Devon Moore finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists as JMU (10-10 overall, 3-3 in the CAA) improved to 6-2 at home, including a perfect 3-0 in league play.
All three JMU seniors suffered flu-like symptoms – Davis and Goins each brought a liter of orange juice into the post-game press conference – but finding energy on the court seemed to be no problem.
“I mean, we’re a good home team,” Goins said. “And today we came out with a lot of energy. … I felt like they wasn’t ready for us. We came out and got stops – I mean, they shot terrible from the field – we got stops and we was able to get a lot of easy buckets at the rim in transition in the first half. That kind of picked up our momentum for the first half, and we kept it on them.”
Delaware (8-11, 3-3) entered as the CAA’s most prolific offense, averaging 69.3 points per game. But the Blue Hens shot a paltry 28.9 percent from the floor, and that was after making their final four field goals during garbage time. If not for a late 3-pointer by guard Devon Saddler, UDel would have suffered its most lopsided loss in 18 all-time meetings with the Dukes.
Saddler, the CAA’s leading scorer at 19.5 points per game, paced the Blue Hens with 16, but said the Dukes were “out-toughing us,” noting JMU’s 18 offensive rebounds.
The Dukes made just a third of their shots, yet dominated because of their knees-to-the-floor hustle. They were quicker to 50-50 balls, outrebounded the Hens 48-32 and outscored them 15-2 on second-chance points. On one first-half possession, JMU scored a fifth-chance point when Andre Nation put back his own miss after three other misfires.
“Home and road, I don’t exactly what the difference is with our team,” JMU coach Matt Brady said. “When we go on the road, it’s not quite the same on the glass, but at home, we’ve been good protecting the lane and we’ve been good getting bodies on guys.”
In eight home games, JMU is averaging 69.4 points and allowing 57.2.
James Madison got big production off its bench, including Davis’ prolific night and nine rebounds from freshman forward Taylor Bessick.
The Dukes neutralized Blue Hens senior forward Jamelle Hagins, who had a field day during a Delaware win at the Convo last year. In that game a season ago, Hagins went for 23 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks. On Wednesday, he finished with four points, four rebounds, four turnovers and four fouls.
“I didn’t feel like they did anything different, did anything to stop me,” Hagins said. “I just feel like I had a bad game. I was doing some things out of character.”
Delaware coach Monté Ross offered a succinct and apt account of Wednesday’s game.
“They clearly outplayed us,” he said softly. “Outplayed us, outhustled us, outcoached us.”
It started early. Delaware led 6-2 in the opening minutes before JMU scored the next dozen points, the final two in spectacular fashion.
Asked if his early dunk provided a spark, Davis, who’s been maddeningly inconsistent this year and scored just 11 points in the previous three games combined, said it inspired his whole team.
“Not even me, just my team in general,” Davis said. “I was just happy to get a dunk. My teammates feed off that.”
And they feed off their own arena, even though it was only about a third full, with 2,605 fans in attendance. Four of the Dukes’ next fives games are at home, starting Saturday against Old Dominion – the only team still winless in CAA play.
They’d love to get the same type of performance from Davis, the talented sixth-year transfer who has been an enigma to his coaching staff this year.
“You can see what an impact he can have on the game, but I have no idea how he’s going to play on Saturday,” Brady said. “I do think that he moved better without the ball. Probably the first time that he’s moved that well without the ball. He’s clearly got the athletic ability to make plays in the open court that kind of make your head spin a little bit. The dunk in the first half was really something. But we just need him to be consistent, and that’s a challenge for him.”
DELAWARE
Brinkley 2-5 3-4 7, Hagins 1-5 2-2 4, Threatt 1-9 9-12 12, Saddler 5-12 5-6 16, Anderson 0-5 2-2 2, Rogers 1-4 0-1 3, Savage 0-0 0-0 0, King-Davis 1-1 0-0 2, Baptiste 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 13-45 21-27 50.
JAMES MADISON
Diouf 0-6 1-4 1, Goins 3-10 7-8 15, Curry 1-7 2-2 4, Nation 4-8 2-2 12, Moore 3-9 3-3 10, Davis 7-11 1-2 16, Hood 1-7 0-0 2, Bessick 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 21-63 16-21 64.
Halftime—James Madison 29-18. 3-Point Goals—Delaware 3-12 (Threatt 1-2, Rogers 1-3, Saddler 1-4, Anderson 0-3), James Madison 6-14 (Nation 2-3, Goins 2-4, Davis 1-2, Moore 1-2, Curry 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Delaware 32 (Brinkley, Saddler 6), James Madison 48 (Goins 13). Assists—Delaware 8 (Saddler 3), James Madison 17 (Curry, Moore 6). Total Fouls—Delaware 16, James Madison 18. Technical—Brinkley. A—2,605.