Posted on November 12, 2007
There is always a renewed sense of anticipation and hope that ‘this is the year’ at the start of a JMU men’s basketball season.
But hardly anyone of the 3,233 in attendance at the Convocation Center Friday night expected 100 points, five players in double-figures and a shooting percentage of 64.9 from the field.
Regardless of expectations, the Dukes handled business against Siena College with an impressive offensive performance in a 100-88 win.
“We can be very balanced; you never know who’s gonna be that guy to carry us,” junior guard Abdulai Jalloh said. “But we’re gonna have four other guys also comin’ at you.”
Jalloh, a transfer from St. Josephs University in Pennsylvania, made his much-anticipated JMU debut and came off the bench to give the Dukes 15 points and six rebounds in 32 minutes.
Senior forward Terrence Carter, sophomore guard Pierre Curtis and junior forwards Kyle Swanston and Juwann James joined their newest teammate in double-figure points.
James led JMU with 20 points and seven rebounds while shooting 8-for-8 from the field.
“I took quality shots, those are the shots I take,” James said. “We take those shots at practice, we feel like we’re confident enough to make ’em and I feel like we have the inside and outside guys to make those shots, so they weren’t a surprise.”
The Jacksonville, Fl., native showed his versatility by not only slamming down two dunks, but confidently stroking a three from the top of the key to extend JMU’s lead to 40-36 with 2:10 remaining in the first half.
Madison went into the half trailing by two after Siena junior guard Kenny Hasbrouck hit a go-ahead jumper with two second on the clock.
Jalloh led the charge in the second half as the Dukes came out firing. Jalloh nailed a three and Curtis followed it up with a two-handed dunk less than two minute in.
Curtis picked up his third foul just minutes later but continued to be aggressive, hitting a 3-pointer and continuing an outside shooting stroke that seemed to be infectious.
On the very next possession Jalloh passed up a 3-pointer in mid-air, opting to find junior guard Joe Posey on the wing for a triple. JMU shot 50 percent from beyond-the-arc, finding net on 11 of its 12 attempts.
“We got the ball inside early and our big men opened it up for us,” Swanston said. “They had to go to a zone cause we were scoring on the inside so much.”
Swanston arguably profited the most from the Dukes’ early success inside as he connected on three straight shots from long range in a three-minute span.
The spindly forward provided the game-changing spark JMU needed to overcome the back-and-forth battle with the Saints. On his second 3-pointer of the sequence, JMU took a 71-68 lead and wouldn’t allow a tie for the final 10:02 of the game.
“I thought everybody who played competed and helped in some way,” JMU coach Dean Keener said.
Keener was especially impressed with the defensive effort of reserve freshman guard Heiden Ratner. With Curtis in foul trouble, Ratner stepped in and provided the Dukes with a lock-down defender. Although he had only had one steal, he forced a five-second violation almost immediately.
“I can’t say enough about Heiden, his stat line doesn’t show the kind of game he played.” Keener said. “He came in, in the first half and set the tone for us. He plays every possession like it’s his last, he plays with great passion, and its even rubbing off on the upper classmen.”
JMU’s well-balanced attack and high energy had the JMU crowd possibly as excited as it has ever been in Keener’s four seasons.
“I didn’t expect as many students to come; I think they found out kind of late about the game,” James said. “I heard the crowd echoing every time we made a play. The students were there and the fans were there, they liked what they [saw] and hopefully we can keep it that way and keep competing.”
JMU faces Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H. Saturday at 7 p.m.
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