{"id":323,"date":"2010-02-14T21:06:17","date_gmt":"2010-02-15T02:06:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=323"},"modified":"2010-02-14T21:06:30","modified_gmt":"2010-02-15T02:06:30","slug":"dukes-show-signs-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=323","title":{"rendered":"Dukes Show Signs of Life"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Senior point guard, Pierre Curtis.<\/p><\/div>\n

Just when we think that this team is absolutely dead and buried, the Dukes go out and put together a great 76-71 win against VCU. This was one heck of a game and it had me on the edge of my seat down to the very end. Well, actually until 2:22 remained when my friggin DVR stopped recording!<\/p>\n

JMU played tough in the first half, but went into the break down 8. However, instead of sticking with the template<\/a> and opening the second half by laying an egg, the Dukes actually went on a 19-2 run and stormed to the lead. Denzel Bowles was having a monster game against projected NBA first round draft pick Larry Sanders<\/a> before fouling out just past the midway point of the second half. Even in limited minutes he had 21 points on 10-14 shooting. The Dukes prospects looked dim without Bowles, but the guys hung in there and gutted out the win.<\/p>\n

There was a lot to like about this game. The Dukes only played 7 guys yet somehow finally put together a solid 40 minutes. Like he did against Artsiom Parakhouski<\/a>, Denzel Bowles met the challenge of playing against a super hyped big man in Larry Sanders. The Dukes’ effort on D was better than I’ve seen all year and so was the ball control. JMU had only 9 turnovers compared to 22 for the Rams. At this point, I trust Julius Wells’ shot selection about as much as I trust John Mayer’s PR savvy, but he hit a huge three down the stretch and finished with 20 points. Pierre Curtis had his best all around game of the season. Ben Louis had a classic Ben Louis game, hustling and generally making himself a nuisance on defense. So, lots and lots of good things. The best of all though had to be the play of Trevon Flores. He only had 9 points, but he was all over the place and really provided a great spark.<\/p>\n

Now, we just need to find out if the effort today was an anomaly or if the Dukes are ready to scare some teams down the stretch.<\/p>\n