Dukes Show Signs of Life
Senior point guard, Pierre Curtis.
Just when we think that this team is absolutely dead and buried, the Dukes go out and put together a great 76-71 win against VCU. This was one heck of a game and it had me on the edge of my seat down to the very end. Well, actually until 2:22 remained when my friggin DVR stopped recording!
JMU played tough in the first half, but went into the break down 8. However, instead of sticking with the template and opening the second half by laying an egg, the Dukes actually went on a 19-2 run and stormed to the lead. Denzel Bowles was having a monster game against projected NBA first round draft pick Larry Sanders before fouling out just past the midway point of the second half. Even in limited minutes he had 21 points on 10-14 shooting. The Dukes prospects looked dim without Bowles, but the guys hung in there and gutted out the win.
There was a lot to like about this game. The Dukes only played 7 guys yet somehow finally put together a solid 40 minutes. Like he did against Artsiom Parakhouski, Denzel Bowles met the challenge of playing against a super hyped big man in Larry Sanders. The Dukes’ effort on D was better than I’ve seen all year and so was the ball control. JMU had only 9 turnovers compared to 22 for the Rams. At this point, I trust Julius Wells’ shot selection about as much as I trust John Mayer’s PR savvy, but he hit a huge three down the stretch and finished with 20 points. Pierre Curtis had his best all around game of the season. Ben Louis had a classic Ben Louis game, hustling and generally making himself a nuisance on defense. So, lots and lots of good things. The best of all though had to be the play of Trevon Flores. He only had 9 points, but he was all over the place and really provided a great spark.
Now, we just need to find out if the effort today was an anomaly or if the Dukes are ready to scare some teams down the stretch.
This was a great game…I even got to watch the final minutes during Comcast’s encore presentation yesterday afternoon (just what the Mrs wanted to do for Valentine’s Day!)
Flores and Louis were both really good in this game and Curtis’ free throws were key. Darren White made some nice contributions as well…nice to see freshmen like him and Flores making real contributions.
But mostly it was nice to see them hang tough without Bowles. And things look much better when Wells’ shots actually fall!
They can pump up the “MADHouse” hype all they want, but it will always be the “Electric Zoo” to me.
Agree on all points. Wells is so streaky, but when he’s good, he’s really good. This team is obviously not deep, but there is some talent on the roster and if they keep the intensity up, I think they could surprise someone in the CAA tourney.
Also, the Madhouse sucks.