JMU Holds On And Earns Season Sweep of UNCW

The Dukes held off a late surge from UNCW and secured a 64-62 win in the Convo. The victory wrapped up a regular season sweep of the Seahawks and got JMU to 10-17 and 5-8 in the CAA. UNCW fell to 8-20 and 2-11 in the league. JMU led by as many as 13 points in the second half before the offense sputtered. The Seahawks slowly chipped away and came all the way back to take a 57-56 lead with 4:18 remaining. From that point on, it was all Ron Curry. The sophomore point guard scored the Dukes’ final 6 points to close out the win at home. Here are a few quick thoughts on the win.

Nation Picking Pockets

Andre Nation had a rough day shooting the ball, going 1 for 6 from the floor. He did manage to score 10 points, thanks to hitting 8 out of 10 from the stripe, to go along with 5 boards and 3 assists. Despite his shooting struggles, he was able to make his mark on the game with defense. He pestered UNCW all day and finished with 7 steals. That was good enough to equal a school single game record. Unfortunately, JMU was a bit sloppy with the ball and seemed to give the ball right back on about half of the steals or else the game would have turned into a laugher. Regardless, JMU is fortunate that its most talented offensive player is perhaps at his best when the Dukes don’t have the ball.

Semenov Avenges Oshie

While we were ecstatic over TJ Oshie and the US Men’s Olympic Hockey Team defeating the Russians, Andrey Semenov was not. Apparently he was quite upset about it actually. But he channeled his energy and took out his frustrations on UNCW. He led the Dukes with 18 points, thanks largely to 4 for 7 from long range. So when the US beats Russia, it makes Semenov play better. Double bonus.

The Yohanny Bandwagon

After his first career double-double against Delaware, Yohanny Dalembert found himself in the starting lineup against UNCW. He had a slow start, but eventually showed that Coach Brady’s faith in him was justified. He drew the tough assignment of guarding UNCW’s leading scorer Cedrick Williams. Despite his inexperience, Dalembert was able to hold Williams in check. The senior came into the game averaging 12.5 points per game, but only scored 7 against Yohanny and the Dukes. Dalembert scored 7 points of his own going a perfect 3 for 3 from the field. He also brought the crowd to its feet with a nifty drive and dunk. He just has a ton of potential.

The Emergence of Ron Curry

As we mentioned above, Ron Curry scored JMU’s final six points. With the game on the line, he simply took over. He went to the line with JMU clinging to a 58-57 lead and calmly hit two. He followed those up with a smooth mid range jumper before converting a tough turnaround with contact near the basket. Curry had some big shoes to fill this year succeeding Devon Moore as the Dukes starting point guard. Based on his recent play, it’s pretty clear Curry learned a lot from playing behind Devon last year. He seems to be turning the corner and developing into a leader on the floor and a guy who wants the ball in his hands in crunch time.