{"id":3394,"date":"2011-12-23T08:12:10","date_gmt":"2011-12-23T13:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=3394"},"modified":"2011-12-23T08:12:10","modified_gmt":"2011-12-23T13:12:10","slug":"dukes-hold-on-for-win-over-gw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=3394","title":{"rendered":"Dukes Hold On For Win Over GW"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Dukes' Humpty Hitchens<\/p><\/div>\n

Well it was a little more nerve-racking down the stretch than we’d hoped, but JMU got out of DC with a 62-57 win over GW last night. It’s always nice to get a win on the road and despite the relatively disappointing offensive effort in the second half, we came away more optimistic about the Dukes’ chances in the CAA. This JMU team isn’t great, but neither is the league this year. I mean, we’re talking about a league where just when a team starts to look like it’s putting things together, they go out and lose to Howard<\/a>. So it’s a winnable CAA. Anyway here are 3 quick thoughts on the game.<\/p>\n

Insert Cliche Here<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sports cliches suck, but sometimes they are unavoidable. I’m going to try to refrain from using them and saying JMU was a different team after the break or anything like that. The fact is that JMU looked amazing in the first half and then they just didn’t in the second half. The first 20 minutes were about as well played as any half of basketball I’d seen by the Dukes in years. JMU shot the ball well and played really solid defense to limit the Colonials. AJ Davis and Humpty had 17 points each and the Dukes had a 20 point lead at the break. They had 18 points as a team in the second half. They couldn’t find good shots and the few they managed to get off weren’t going in. It was dicey for a while, but they managed to hold on and escape with a win.<\/p>\n

Mike Lonnergan Does Not Speak Humpty<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have no idea what was said between the two, but Humpty and Mike Lonnergan had a bit of an altercation late in the second half. Humpty apparently was getting a little too close to the GW bench for Lonnergan’s comfort and next think you know people were pulling them apart from each other. Whatever the case, neither guy got T’d up, so it couldn’t have been that bad. Brady and the assistant coaches, particularly Lou Rowe, did an excellent job of getting Humpty out of there and calming him down. What could have been sort of ugly, turned out to be nothing.<\/p>\n

Purple Out<\/strong><\/p>\n

This might have been a road game for the Dukes, but JMU fans showed up and eliminated any home court advantage the Colonials could have had. Which was good, because with nearly all the seats in the Smith Center practically hanging over the court, it would be a very tough place to play if it were packed with GW fans. I thought it was a terrific place to watch a college basketball game and obviously loved seeing so many Dukes fans there. Kudos to the Duke Club (and Living Social) for doing such a great job to get JMU fans out in full force. And I’m sure I speak for Todd when I say that it was awesome to meet some more blog readers in person.<\/p>\n

Alright, I’m gonna cut this short because the JMUSB post game celebration at Jay’s Saloon has me in dire need of a cup of coffee. Merry Christmas everyone!<\/p>\n

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