Dukes Lose Another Close One to Mason
The Dukes dropped their second game in a row today, falling to George Mason 75-73. Taking a step back and trying to view things objectively, it was an awesome ball game. There was a great crowd, an ESPNU audience, and two rivals going back and forth for 40 minutes. Viewing things from my perspective as a JMU fan and it was sort of miserable. JMU was in command with an 8 point lead in the second half, then let GMU storm back and take the game. It’s not really a surprise considering that the Patriots have won 14 of the last 15 against the JMU.
We’ve now watched the Dukes drop 2 close ones to CAA contenders. JMU has shown it can play with the league’s big boys, but has yet to figure out how to win these close ballgames. Right now, it appears that the difference between JMU and the other top CAA teams is defense. JMU has been particularly weak on the perimeter guarding against the three. The Patriots hit 50% from behind the arc today. You can say they just got hot, but if you watched the game you’d know that wasn’t it. JMU just gave them too many open looks.
Denzel Bowles had another big game, finishing with 21 points, 14 boards, 6 blocks, and 4 assists. Unfortunately he got into foul trouble which limited him down the stretch. The real player of the game was Mason’s Cam Long though. He took only 9 shots from the field, but scored 30 points. Long is a nice player, but he was absolutely ridiculous this game. He hit from long range and seemed to be able to get to the basket at will all game.
Things don’t get much easier for the Dukes. They head up to Long Island to face Hofstra, another top CAA team on Monday. If the Dukes don’t step up defensively, I don’t even want to think about what Charles Jenkins might do to them. Cam Long is good and has a shot at making All CAA. Jenkins is sick and has a shot at making All America. Shutting him down and snagging a road victory would be a nice way for JMU to right the ship.
Didn’t get to watch (getting a house ready for the market, actually trying to move to harrisonburg), but glad to hear we were at least competitive. At least we get another shot at them.
Yeah, it was a good competetive game, but a disappointing result. I thought JMU was ready to pull away and then Mason just took over. Like you said though, at least we get another shot at them.
Good luck with the move.
I agree with perimeter D as being a weakness. Another though, IMO … is the PG play. I feel like the offense goes through random periods where its completely out of sync. Rayshawn putting the ball on the floor from 15 ft out. Forced one on one drives. Forced/bad passes into the post. Stange, b/c this team has the weapons to beat you from anywhere.
One a positive … loved to see Wells get some pts in the paint … his off the ball movement was great (at moments) today.
Absolutely agree about PG play. I love Devon’s game, but he’s been off the past two games. During the winning streak he was able to take control of the offense by getting the right guys involved. That mostly meant feeding Denzel and getting him going, and it enabled Goins to focus on crashing the glass. Todd and I actually felt more comfortable yesterday with the ball in Humpty’s hands in the end. The Dukes really need Devon to bounce back and take control of the offense. I’m confident he will.
I saw today that the game tonight is on ESPN3.com. Anyone who hasn’t watched a game on espn3 before, it’s pretty cool.