Big Shot Ben for the Win!
Ben Louis, big man on campus.
Ben Louis hit a game winning trey with 1.5 seconds remaining to lift the Dukes to a 69-66 victory over Townson this afternoon. Big, big shot off a great feed by Pierre Curtis. OK, so I’m not sure if anyone has ever callled the 6’3″ Junior from Australia, Big Shot Ben. But I do know, he hit a last second three to close out the first half and then closed the game with another clutch three. That’s worthy of a nickname for at least tonight, right? I’ve also got to imagine a game winning three in the afternoon equals pretty good odds with the ladies come nightfall. Godspeed to you Ben.
As we’ve come to expect, Julius Wells and Denzel Bowles each had good games. Wells hit on 5-13 from beyond the arc and finished with 23 points. Bowles chipped in 21 points and 8 rebounds. As Smokin Al Koken repeatedly stated throughout the telecast, Bowles showed tremendous patience and really let the game come to him. He didn’t get many looks offensively in the opening 10 minutes, but made his presence felt on the defensive end. He finished with 6 blocked shots.
One thing we consistently have been saying is that the Dukes need a reliable third scorer to emerge. This afternoon Darren White and Ben Louis both stepped up. Each of them had 10 points. Louis obviously was feeling it at the right time and White showed some tremendous athleticism. He’s young, but he’s got the talent to be really, really good. The kid can absolutely jump out of the gym.
Coach Brady seemed pretty frustrated with his team’s inconsistency. I’ve got say, I completely agree. Even with the injuries, JMU has enough talent to compete with any team in the conference, if (and this is a big if) they can play for a full 40 minutes. The Dukes were in position to really blow Towson out midway through the second half and then they just went to sleep. They came through in the end, but there were definite lapses when the entire team just lost focus. I get the feeling that doesn’t sit well with Coach Brady. We’ll see how the look Thursday against William & Mary.
