JMU Storms Back to Beat Princeton

Unstoppable.

We’ve long assumed JMU was better than Princeton in a countless ways. Tonight we have definite proof that the Dukes are better at basketball. The Dukes defeated the Tigers 65-64 in the Convo to move to 2-1. Princeton appeared to have the game in the bag, before a furious second half rally by the Dukes. JMU was down by as much as 20, but came out of the locker room and took control of the game in the second half. Denzel Bowles led the way with 29 points, 10 boards, and 4 blocks.

We’re only 3 games into the season and it’s clear that Todd and I are going to need to invest in a thesauras to find new ways to describe Denzel’s game. To say he was dominant, wouldn’t be doing it justice. He was virtually unstoppable all night. He followed up his 10 for 12 effort on Saturday, by going 11 for 14 from the field. He hit 2 free throws to give JMU a 65-64 lead with 28 seconds, then buckled down on defense to deny the post and help save the game. The outstanding defense was just the icing on the cake of an outstanding game. Bowles and his teammates limited the Tigers to 17 second half points, after heading into the break down 47-34. I don’t know what Coach Brady said to the team at halftime, but whatever he said lit a fire under them.

There was a lot to like about this game. Obviously, Bowles play is exciting. He’s well on his way to becoming the best post scorer in JMU history. And apparently he was serious when he said he was committing himself to playing better defense. The team as a whole played great D and was terrific from the line, hitting 81% for the game. Julius Wells had an off shooting night, but led the team with 6 assists and wisely seemed intent on feeding Bowles instead of looking for his own shot. Wells and his teammates did a much better job of taking care of the ball as well. JMU had only 8 turnovers and the normally disciplined Tigers had 13. Rayshawn Goins was quite offensively, but Humpty and Devon picked up the slack and scored in double figures. Again, there was a lot to like about the game.

This was an outstanding win for the Dukes. It’s exactly the sort of game they would have given away last year. Instead of folding, the entire team buckled down on D and continued to feed the hot hand. I know it’s really early, but a 20 point come from behind victory like tonight’s has me very excited for this JMU squad.