Dragons dominate Dukes
Posey and Curtis combine to score 32 points in loss
By John Galle, sports editor
Posted on January 11, 2007

The JMU men’s basketball team set out to do something it’s never been able to do — ever.

Beat Drexel University.

Though Madison held the red-hot Dragons to 65 points, they couldn’t muster enough offense to pull the upset, as the Dukes lost 65-54 Monday night at the Convocation Center.

“I thought we gave a great effort tonight, especially at the defensive end,” JMU coach Dean Keener said. “We just had a hard time getting a flow offensively.”

Despite offensive struggles on both sides, the Dragons’ defense and size gave them the advantage. They held the Dukes (4-10 overall, 1-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association) to just 18 points and 30 percent shooting from the field in the first half and out-rebounded them 31-27 in the game.

The game featured Drexel forward Chaz Crawford as one of the top defenders in the league guarding JMU’s leading scorer in sophomore forward Juwann James.

Crawford, the league leader in blocks and rebounds, found success Monday night against JMU as James was limited to nine points. James had been averaging 14.5 points per game prior to the contest.

“Juwann is going to get doubled every night,” JMU sophomore guard Joe Posey said. “Certain guys in certain games are just going to have to step up.”

It didn’t help JMU that Posey and sophomore forward Kyle Swanston got into foul trouble early.

While Madison lost its perimeter shooters, the Dragons lost their inside presence in Frank Elegar for the same reason. However, they compensated by hitting seven 3-pointers to jumpstart their offense.

“We tend to have a little bit of bad luck with teams stepping up and making threes on us,” Keener said.

According to Keener, five of the seven were actually well-defended, but Drexel was just making tough shots.

At halftime, the Dukes found themselves down 31-18.

In the second half, Madison came out with some intensity on defense.

“We’re growing in that area,” Keener said. “It was primarily man-to-man against arguably one of the best teams in the league.”

The defensive play translated into a 10-3 run, cutting the deficit to six. “They were playing their best game against us,” Drexel guard Bashir Mason said.

Momentum swung back though after a 13-4 run by Drexel frustrated the Dukes and put the Dragons in the driver’s seat with a 15-point lead (35-50) — their largest of the game — with just under six minutes left.

Keener said JMU just couldn’t get into a rhythm on offense, and for the second game in a row, they were sloppy in carrying out offensive assignments and cycling through options.

“When we went up by 15, I felt comfortable,” Drexel coach Bruiser Flint said. “To win games on the road, you got to play [defense]. I think that’s the biggest thing since you’re not going to always be able to shoot the ball.”

That’s just what Drexel did.

However, the Dukes refused to give up and found a sudden offensive burst off the bench from Posey.

In the last minute and a half, Posey got hot, hitting four consecutive 3-pointers. He ended up leading the Dukes in scoring (18 points) as a result, while freshman guard Pierre Curtis finished right behind him with 14.

The Dragons, however, had enough cushion to absorb the blow and finished strong at the free-throw line (9 of 12).
The Dukes are on a two-game skid and have a tough road trip ahead against UNC-Wilmington and George Mason.

Whether on the road or not, JMU’s young squad has evoked a new fight that even Drexel’s players noted.

“That was a different team than what we played in the past,” Mason said. “They had no quit in them.”

Said Curtis: “I don’t think losses are going to make us want to stop playing defense. Sooner or later it’s going to pay off with wins.”