{"id":7491,"date":"2015-01-15T22:31:59","date_gmt":"2015-01-16T03:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7491"},"modified":"2015-01-15T23:36:54","modified_gmt":"2015-01-16T04:36:54","slug":"nation-less-dukes-drop-drexel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7491","title":{"rendered":"Nation-less JMU Dukes Drop Drexel"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Winston<\/a>In its first game since the dismissal of Andre Nation, JMU steamrolled Drexel by the score of 54-35<\/a>. The Dukes now sit at 3-2 in the CAA and 10-8 overall. After the loss Drexel finds itself at 3-13 overall and 1-4 in the CAA.<\/p>\n

Yohanny Dalembert led the Dukes with a highly efficient 15 points and 5 boards in only 23 minutes of action. He shot 6 of 7 from the field. Winston Grays stepped up and did his best to fill the vacancy left by Nation, scoring 11 points. Despite some struggles protecting the ball (he had 5 turnovers), he looked energized and played his best game in weeks. Ron Curry had another off shooting night, but hit a few big buckets down the stretch, including a ridiculous three with the shot clock winding down late. More than anything, Curry controlled the tempo and commanded the team from the point.<\/p>\n

The Dukes started off slow and fell behind by as many as nine points early. They seemed to settle down midway through the opening half and quickly stormed back. Drexel’s play on the other hand, seemed to deteriorate throughout the first half. At one point the Dragons missed 17 straight shots. It might have been an uglier shooting performance than JMU’s complete stinker against Valpo. Some credit is due to the Dukes defense, but some of it was just due to flat out bad offense. Regardless of the root cause, Drexel managed only 35 points and 24% shooting. The CAA’s leading scored, Damien Lee, came into the game averaging over 20 points a game, but managed just 14.<\/p>\n

To be clear, Drexel is not going to challenge for the CAA title. It’s a stretch to think the Dragons could even finish in the top half of the league. The 18 point win is still a good sign for JMU though. The Dukes had just a single win in the DAC prior to tonight. And given yesterday’s news regarding Nation, this was a pretty big test. A test that JMU passed. The Dukes showed that they’re not ready to give up the season, just because Nation is gone. It was an ugly game at times, but JMU played with enthusiasm and was able to blow out a conference-mate on the road.<\/p>\n