Win Over Delaware Gets JMU to .500 in CAA Play
JMU picked up its first road win of CAA play this year with a 73-63 defeat of Delaware. The Dukes are now even at 1-1 in the CAA and 11-4 overall. The Blue Hens fell to 0-2 in the CAA and 5-8 overall. Jackson Kent was the man for the Dukes. He notched the first double-double of his career, scoring 19 and pulling down 10 boards. Ron Curry was held without a point in the opening half, but lit it up after the break and finished with 17. Winston Grays also reached double figures, adding in 13 points, all in the first half. Here are three key numbers from the win.
9
That’s the number of Dukes who played at least double digit minutes yesterday. We saw Matt Brady go deep into his bench in early non-conference play, but weren’t sure what to expect in CAA games. If the first two league games are an indication, we’re going to continue to see a lot of guys get on the floor. Brady used 8 players for at least 10 minutes in last week’s loss against Charleston. After living through some lean years regarding JMU hoops’ depth, this is welcome development.
.896
That was Delaware’s points per possession in the game. The Blue Hens haven’t exactly been lighting it up offensively this year. They average only .96 points per possession, which equates to the 243rd best in the country. A scoring machine they are not. But the opening twenty minutes must have been particularly painful for Delaware fans to watch. The Blue Hens hit only 17% of their field goals in the first half. Whether you want to chalk that up to plain awful shooting, solid defense, or just one of the days, the end result was the same. Delaware just couldn’t score.
8
That’s how many three pointers Jackson Kent, Winston Grays, and Dimitrije Cabarkapa hit in the first half. The trio went 8 for 13 from behind the arc and helped JMU jump out to a big lead that the Dukes never gave up. The hot shooting from long range, combined with the aforementioned awful shooting by the Blue Hens, was enough for JMU to put the game away early.
I don’t expect that kind of play every time out from Kent….but if he can get back to being a 8-14 point guy per game that will be huge. Also that production from Gray’s was nice to see.
Curry and The Serb are going to score….there has to be a 3rd guy in double figures each game and if that can be shared between Brown and Kent that will work.
I have no clue what is going on with YoYo — he simply looks lost out there for long stretches. I know his knee was hurt early and that might account for some conditioning and confidence but does not explain:
– why he cannot catch a pass cleanly
– cannot shoot freethrows this year