Hoops Drops a Pair in Texas to Fall to 2-8

This is a young team and it’s a rebuilding year. Sorry, I just had to see it in writing to remind myself. The Dukes took a trip to Texas and lost a pair of games to Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State.  I don’t know much about either school, but I tend to think of them as Texas’ own little version of a Michigan directional school. That may or may not be an apt comparison. Regardless, each team did what it had to in order to defeat the Dukes.

Both games were played as part of the E-Tech Lumberjack Classic. On day one of the tournament, the Dukes lost a close one to Sam Houston State. There was no broadcast of the game available where I live so I followed along online. As a reward for my dedication idiocy, I got to witness JMU surrender a double-digit lead and lose on a three with under 10 seconds left. And considering I was only “witnessing” the game via a series of delayed text updates on a computer, the amount of pain and disappointment the loss caused was somewhat surprising. Or pathetic. You decide.

Saturday, the Dukes lost to a Stephen F. Austin team that is actually pretty decent. The Lumberjacks handled preseason CAA favorite Towson rather easily on Friday night but the score of 69-59. So while JMU falling 70-57 is nothing to be ashamed of, it was disappointing nonetheless. Disappointing because even though the Dukes are in the midst of a 6 game slump, I still think they’ve got enough talent to beat any team on the schedule. Whether that’s a statement about my optimism, my ignorance, or the strength of schedule is up for debate.

There’s no need to rehash either of the games. In the first one, JMU held the lead for long stretches only to give it away in the final minutes. In the second, JMU was outmatched but shot well enough from the free throw line to hang around. Charles Cooke led the Dukes in scoring both games, going for 22 against Sam Houston and 19 against Stephen F. Austin. He was selected to the All Tournament team as a result and has scored in double digits eight straight games. Freshman Jackson Kent continued to flash his potential as well, scoring 11 and 13 points in the two games.

If there is a silver lining to this young season, it’s that players have been given chances to step up and prove themselves. Cooke and Jackson have definitely taken advantage of the opportunities. We knew Cooke had potential, but it’s nice to see that he’s able to carry the scoring load. And Jackson Kent’s contributions this early in his college career, indicate he has a very bright future for JMU. This season might not bring much in the way of wins, but the experience could pay dividends down the road. We hope it does at least.