Dukes Advance to Face Delaware

There is another game to focus on, so this is gonna be quick. JMU beat William & Mary for the third time this year to win its opening round game in the CAA Tournament last night. The seniors led the way as the Dukes hung in there in a close contest, before closing it out with a late run to win 72-67. A.J. Davis had a great game once again. The senior started instead of coming off the bench, and responded by scoring 20 points and grabbing 5 boards. He and fellow senior Devon Moore played as if their college basketball lives were on the line, which of course they were. Moore started off red hot, hitting his first 7 shots from the field. He also finished with 20 points to go along with 8 assists and 5 rebounds. Rayshawn Goins struggled for much of the game against the always strong Tim Rusthoven. After being pulled from the game in the second half, Rayshawn returned with new energy and sparked a Dukes rally with a couple big buckets down low. The Dukes nearly gave the game away on the line. JMU shot only 9-18 from the stripe. Typically, when a team shoots free throws that poorly in a close game, they lose. JMU overcame the week free throwing shooting by punishing the Tribe on the boards and scoring 17 second chance points.

The important thing is that JMU won and is moving on to the CAA semi-finals. The Dukes face a red hot Delaware team that many are picking to win it all. Like they did against William & Mary, JMU swept the Blue Hens in the regular season. At this stage that doesn’t really mean much though and it’s bound to be a close contest. Tip-off is at 4:30 and the game is going to be televised nationally on NBC Sportsnetwork. If you’re within driving distance of Richmond & you’re free though, you might as well make the trip. A big purple crowd could make all the difference.