Dukes Fall Short in Norfolk

Last year, JMU was able to go on the road and shock the ODU Monarchs. Tonight, JMU battled with ODU the whole game, but couldn’t pull out the win. The Monarchs prevailed 74-72. We can’t ignore the fact that ODU is consistently near the top of the CAA, the fact that they’re pretty tough to beat in Norfolk, nor the fact that this JMU team is down 2 starters. Man, it would have been nice for JMU to pull this one off though.

Our JMU Sports Blog Norfolk Branch checked in after returning from the Ted. They summed it up like this:

Good crowd tonight, with JMU well represented. It was a pretty exciting game, but it obviously didn’t have the ending we wanted. The big man (Bowles) missed a tough reverse layup down the stretch that could have put JMU up, but he and Wells both looked really solid.

Julius Wells picked up where he left off Monday night and was good for 29 and 6. He had a great night from long distance, hitting on 7 or 12 from downtown. Denzel Bowles had another solid night in his return home to the Hampton Road area. He finished with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. That’s below his scoring average, but a pretty awesome effort in what was his first big conference test, facing Gerald Lee, a first team All-CAA selection last season. It’s clear Wells and Bowles have the talent to go off for big numbers on any given night. They’re both playing a lot of minutes though and JMU is in dire need of a consistent third scoring option. Coach Brady has this team past the point of settling for moral victories, but a strong effort like tonight’s on the road, is definitely a good sign. I can’t wait to see the rematch at the Convo.