JMU Renews Rivalry By Dominating GMU

JMU and George Mason were founding members of the CAA. The two schools played some epic basketball games and had a heck of a rivalry until Mason bolted for the A10. Thankfully, the powers that be at both schools decided to start playing each other again. Yesterday, the two teams played each other for the first time since 2013. It wasn’t a particularly close game. The Dukes dominated their friends from Fairfax by the score of 69-46. If there was a better way to renew the rivalry, we can’t think of it. Here are some quick numbers from the game.

11

That’s the number of JMU Dukes who scored yesterday. Matt Brady managed to get all 13 guys into the game yesterday. Coach has gone particularly deep into the bench this year, but JMU was so in control yesterday he got to clear the whole damn thing. And all 13 managed to contribute in one way or another. Ron Curry led the way with 11 points. Jackson Kent was the only other Duke to reach double figures with 10 points. Yohanny Dalembert grabbed a team high 11 boards and had 2 blocks. Shakir Brown had 8 points, 3 boards, and an assist. We could go on, but the point is this was a total team effort.

31

If you guessed GMU’s shooting percentage, please collect your prize. The Patriots struggled to hit only 7 of 26 shots in the first half. They improved slightly in the second, going 11 for 32. That’s a rough night. It’s also what happens when teams can run 10+ players at you as JMU did. The Dukes have been letting opponents shoot over 42% agains them this year. Limiting an opponent to 31% is a huge step in the right direction for a squad that needs to improve team defense come CAA play.

1,347

The number of students who were in attendance. Old folks like to complain about nothing is a good as it used to be. (It’s kind of our thing.) I’m sure you’ll have no trouble finding JMU hoops fans who can tell you wonderful stories about how great the crowds were back in their day. Some of those stories might even be true. But those stories aren’t going to do anything to put more buts in seats. Big wins over in state opponents will. So we applaud the students who showed up, dressed for the blackout, and cheered the team on to a great win. And we can’t thank the athletic department enough for finally giving the students some good seats in the lower section. We’re looking forward to seeing the crowds grow as the season moves along.