Epic Comeback Results in JMU Win Over W&M

I’d imagine a better writer would start off by stating that a team’s character is only revealed when its back is against the wall or some such nonsense. Whatever. I’ll just say this. That. Was. Awesome. JMU had a comeback for the ages in Williamsburg tonight. After being down by as many as 19 points, the Dukes stormed back to win 69-67. The game concluded the regular season and moved JMU’s record to 17-14, (11-7). William & Mary fell to 13-16, (7-11). Most importantly, the victory secured the 3 seed in next weekend’s CAA Tournament for the Dukes. And it set up a rematch with the Tribe in the first round.

Over the span of the full 40 minutes, William & Mary faced 3 different JMU teams. Bad JMU, good JMU, and A.J. Davis. Davis was practically playing William & Mary by himself in the opening half. He came off the bench to score a career high 36 points. Without his 21 first half points, they might have called this one at the break. It was a ridiculous performance from the senior who seems capable of putting this team on his back against any team. And the Tribe’s Marcus Thornton was right there with him, scoring 19 first half points himself. Playing right along Davis in the first half though was bad JMU. You know the one. The JMU team that looks dead asleep, stands around on offense, and misses rotations on defense. The lackluster defense enabled the Tribe to shoot 76% in the opening half. Things looked really, really bad.

Everything turned around in the second half though. A.J. was still A.J., but bad JMU left the building and good JMU took its place.  Brady pulled a struggling Rayshawn Goins at about the 15 minute mark and went with a quicker lineup. The defense came back to life and as a result the Tribe’s shooting percentage came back to earth. Little by  little the Dukes chipped away at the Tribe’s lead. And then slowly but surely, Dukes fans who hung in there and kept the faith (like yours truly) were rewarded for their patience. Andre Nation’s dunk tied it up at 65-65 with 1:33. Then with the game tied at 67-67, Devon Moore drove to attempt a go-ahead bucket. But he was hit hard and went down screaming and clutching his knee. He managed to stay in the game and calmly hit two free throws for the lead with 19 seconds. Then the defense did it’s a job and your standard 19 point come from behind win was complete.

It’s still sort of tough to process, but it sure was a hell of a lot of fun. The wins gets JMU the 3 seed and puts them on the other half of the bracket from top-seeded Northeastern. There are no easy outs in the CAA tourney and JMU has to face this same talented Tribe team next Saturday night. If they win though, they won’t have to face a rested Northeastern team who earned a bye. Plus it’s always nice to close the regular season with a win. And I have no clue how to do Mr. Davis’ game justice. His 36 point performance was the 11th highest single game total in JMU history. He scored 17 of JMU’s first 19 points. He went 15 for 23 from the field. He hit 5 treys. He had 4 steals and 3 blocks. He was a treat to watch.