Coach Mark Byington has built James Madison basketball into what will be a tough out in the Sun Belt Conference. The Dukes came into Tuesday night’s 55-50 loss to No. 3 Virginia averaging 93.3 points per game (1st/CBB) and shooting 52.7 percent (2nd/CBB).
Virginia’s slow pace and the experience and skills of its athletic starting five allowed the Cavaliers to hold the Dukes to 27.3 percent from the floor, while scoring just 50 points.
“I think the reason they’re good is that they can play a couple of different styles,” explained Virginia head coach Tony Bennett. “We had to get it to that kind of game and especially with Reece (Beekman) being out.”
The win came despite losing Beekman before the first TV time-out. Ironically, he went down after his score on a fast break gave Virginia a 7-5 lead, just 3:24 into the game.
Beekman hurt his ankle in the win at Michigan, so he wasn’t 100 percent when the Cavaliers defeated Florida State.
“I think we emptied our tank defensively and maybe that’s why we are struggling at the line,” said Bennett. “Both teams played incredibly hard and I want to credit Mark and his ball club because they are very good.”
Virginia came into the game averaging 73.5 percent from the line, but they were only 12-of-24 as the missed free throws left opportunities for JMU. The Cavs were only 5-of-13 from the line in the final six minutes.
Kihei Clark, who once again led the Cavaliers in scoring, netted 18 points while he was 5-of-11, but made only 6-of-12 foul shots.
“I’m sure he missed some free throws and I noticed mistakes, but you could just see how tough-minded he was,” said Bennett of Clark.
As James Madison pushed the tempo more on offense to start the second half, Clark kept the Cavaliers in position to win as he scored 11 of 13 points in the first eight minutes of the second half as Virginia maintained a 40-34 margin with 11:59 to play in the game.
James Madison posted a 52-49 win over Virginia in Harrisonburg last season and the Dukes held Virginia to 38 percent from the floor and just 4-of-26 from the three-point line in that game.
Tuesday night, Virginia turned the tables in holding the Dukes to 15-of-55 from the floor (27.3%).
However, it took an offensive play to win the game when freshman forward Ryan Dunn took a pass on the right baseline and drove to the basket for a layup and a 54-50 lead with 36 seconds left in the contest.
“We came back down, just trying to get offense, and I just kind of heard if I get it and be aggressive and try to make a play … and as I went baseline, I scored,” said Dunn.
Important sketch for JMU: Virginia made only 12-of-24 free throws as the Cavaliers took 12 free throws in the last 5:48. The big key for the Dukes would have been the ability to consistently answer on offense.
Takal Molson was able to score James Madison’s last 11 points and led all scorers with 20 points on the evening.
“I thought today, we were ready to compete against them,” said Byington. “I thought we did at a high level. We just didn’t do quite enough.”
Molson came back with a stellar evening after illness as the Dukes’ leading scorer Terrence Edwards was 1-of-7 from the floor while playing only 12:36 due to the illness that had gone through the JMU team.
“Luckily, we’re deep and I think what happens to one guy, you kind of respond,” noted Byington. “I am glad to see Tok play like himself. He’s definitely not scared. He is an older guy who is experienced.”
James Madison is potentially a Sun Belt champion in its first year in the league as matchups with Appalachian State, Louisiana, South Alabama, Texas State and Marshall have potential on offense which makes them seem championship-worthy in the league.
