Downtown showdown
Eastern Kentucky downs JMU as the teams combine to go 22-for-48 from 3-point range
By Brian Hansen, sports editor
Posted on November 30, 2006

Over the previous two seasons the JMU men’s basketball team won only 11 games.  However, the team that lost Tuesday night to Eastern Kentucky showed something that their predecessors lacked — heart.

“I think last year with that lead they had going into halftime, you probably would have seen a 20-point blowout,” sophomore shooting guard Joe Posey said. “That’s not the case with this team.”

Unfortunately for the Dukes, they don’t give points for showing heart.

EKU jumped all over JMU in the first half, opening up a lead as large as 18 points on its way to winning 70-66 in the Convocation Center Tuesday night.

“We’ve got great character,” JMU coach Dean Keener said. “That’s something that’s shown up in every game we played.”

Character was not enough for JMU, as it could not overcome the sharp-shooting Colonels. EKU shot 50 percent for the game from 3-point range, including nine 3s in the first half. The Colonels came into the game shooting just 32 percent from outside.

EKU point guard Adam Leonard led the way early as he scored all 12 of his points in the first half going 4-for-7 from beyond the arc.

“I was feeling it,” Leonard said. “Those are my favorite kind of rims, those soft rims.”

Leonard finished the game with 12 points, four assists and a steal.

It was a game of outside shooting as the teams combined for 22 3-pointers against the aggressive zone defenses.

“They did some things that exposed us defensively,” Keener said. “We’ve preached to this young team that we’ve got the ability to score, we’ve got to be able to defend people. We’ve got to be able to defend better.”

With the score 56-43 with 7:45 remaining in the game, the Colonels were able to run nearly a 1:30 off the clock thanks to two JMU fouls. From that point on, Keener said he knew the Dukes needed to put the pressure on EKU.

“The way they run that offense, they can be methodical at times,” Keener said. “It enables them to be able to milk a lead; we felt like we couldn’t allow them to do that anymore.”

From that point on, the Dukes switched to three-quarter court pressure, forcing several EKU turnovers. This allowed JMU to fight back, but the Dukes just couldn’t hit the big shot or get the big stop when they needed it.

“JMU never went away,” Colonels coach Jeff Neubauer said. “We valued the ball and made the most of the opportunities that presented themselves.”

Added Keener, “We had the chances. I think [JMU forward Kyle] Swanston had a chance to cut it to three and the ball rimmed out. We couldn’t quite get over the hump.”

The Dukes were led by Posey, who had a game-high 17 points and tied for the team-high with six rebounds. Sophomore guard Colbey Santos pitched in with six points, six rebounds and six assists.

EKU guards Julian Mascoll and Mike Rose each had 16 points, while forward Jamaal Douglas pulled down a game-high seven rebounds.

The game was an opportunity for JMU to do something they’ve never done under Dean Keener — put together a three-game winning streak.

“We haven’t been able to string a lot of games together since I’ve been here,” Posey said. “There haven’t been a lot of opportunities to win a couple of games in a row. This team is different, and I think that’ll help us put together a few games in a row and win three, four, five games in a row.”

The Dukes will have a two-game road trip next, beginning with Old Dominion Saturday at noon. The game will air on Comcast TV. JMU will face Georgetown in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. before returning home to play Dartmouth on Dec. 10 at 2 p.m.