Dukes Lose Thriller at Northeastern.
Yes, the Dukes lost. JMU fell by the score of 66-64 to Northeastern on the road. The win clinched at least a share of first place for Northeastern and got them to 18-10 (13-3) on the season. After the loss JMU dropped to 16-13 (10-6). It was a close contest all night and Northeastern’s David Walker put the Huskies ahead with 2.4 seconds left. A.J. Davis got a decent look at a winner, but his three point attempt in the closing seconds fell short and Andre Nation’s put back didn’t beat the buzzer. Instead of returning home with back-to-back last second CAA wins on the road, the Dukes head back to the ‘burg wondering what could have been. Strangely, as disappointed as we are right now, the loss didn’t discourage us about the Dukes’ chances in the CAA Tournament. Not even a little bit.
Nobody likes losing and we’re no different. Judging from the reaction of friends and the majority of people we interact with on Twitter however, we’re not the only ones who aren’t too down after this loss. It stings, but this was a fun game to watch. And it definitely could have gone either way. If JMU fell apart at the end, completely broke down on defense, or lost due to some other preventable mistake, we’d probably be sick right now. They didn’t though. They played a very tough team essentially to a draw on the road. And we would really, really like they’re chances in a rematch in Richmond. And I think anyone who watched this game would love a rematch to. Both teams played solid defense all night. JMU was outstanding on the boards, resulting in a 19-2 advantage in second chance points. Northeastern was lights out from the line, going 18-20. It was a really great game. It just sucks that JMU lost.
We’ve made it abundantly clear that we want a JMU vs. NU rematch and that we’d like JMU chances in one. But the Dukes still have work to do before Richmond. They need to win out and have GMU lose to secure the #2 seed in the tourney. They can take a huge step toward doing that with a win over a dangerous Georgia State team in the home finale this Saturday at the Convo. And then they close the regular season with a game in Williamsburg against William & Mary. Neither game will be easy, but they’re both crucial. And after years of virtual irrelevancy, that’s pretty much what we all wanted.
I actually felt encouraged after that game as well. As long as we don’t have to play GMU in the tournament I’ll feel confident about our chances in each game.
I do have a bit of an issue with Brady going with a full court press in a tie game with 16 seconds left. I understand putting pressure on the ball and making them take time off the clock, but you can do that with man-to-man pressure. His zone trap led to helter skelter when Northeastern broke the press and guys weren’t able to locate their man. Pressing like that is very susceptible to easy baskets, so I’m not sure why you would do that in a tie ball game.
One last thing – those announcers last night were awful. They didn’t think there was any contact on Devon Moore’s attempt at the end of the 1st half? They didn’t realize right away that Northeastern’s guy kicked the ball out of bounds? They missed so many obvious calls. And the “analyst” had the energy level of someone that got shot with a tranquilizer dart.
Good effort by the team and I’m encouraged by the play of Cooke and some of the freshman in stretches. Semenov would have a huge impact on this team so hopefully he can return and contribute in the tourney. My main nitpick with the game was all of the stupid fouls the Dukes made 90 plus feet away from the hoop in the second half going after offensive rebounds or loose balls. I didn’t add it up, but we probably gave them about 10 free points that way.
Don’t overlook the fact that Walter McCarty (the awful color guy) has multiple albums. I have no real opinion on the actual music other than to say Walter McCarty is no Wayman Tisdale.
The only thing I was disappointed in during last night’s game was how many chip shots JMU missed. A few of those go and the Dukes win.
That was Walter McCarty as the color guy???
What I take away from this game is that it appears JMU has found out how to play on the road with back to back tight games against #1 and #2 in the CAA. I will take that split everytime. I think it is encouraging that JMU feels like we let one get away against NU. JMU will be hungry to close the season out and the tourney. JMU knows they can play with anyone in this league in Richmond.
Great free throw shooting last night, keep that up.
Lets go and finish STRONG!!!
Al Koken also blows as a play by play guy for CAA games. It is obvious that he does not know the teams.
Short of a win it was good game for the Dukes. Next time it will be on a neutral court. What was with all the shots from the arc? I haven’t seen that many threes since the homecoming pagent.