JMU's Jackson Kent scored a team-high 20 points against Drexel.
JMU Rallies Past Drexel, 80-70
Rob Washburn
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NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (March 3, 2017) – Senior Jackson Kent netted 16 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to pace five Dukes in double-figures, as seventh-seeded James Madison earned a hard-fought, 80-70 win over 10
th-seeded Drexel in Game 2 of the 2017 CAA Men’s Basketball Championship.
The Dukes (10-22) shot 62.1% in the final 20 minutes with Kent finishing 8-of-12 from the floor. Redshirt junior Ramone Snowden, senior Paulius Satkus and classmate Shakir Brown all recorded 11 points, while junior Joey McLean added 14 in the win – JMU’s first in the conference tournament since capturing its last CAA title in 2013. Brown also led all players with 11 boards.
The Dukes move on to the Quarterfinals for a date with second-seeded College of Charleston at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. That contest will be on Comcast SportsNet, as well as CAA.tv.
Drexel junior Sammy Mojica scored 15 points to lead the Dragons (9-23), while freshman Kari Jonsson finished with 14 and freshman Kurk Lee added 13.
After making just seven field goals as a team in the first half, JMU changed its early woes to start the second half. The Dukes utilized an impressive 26-5 run, taking control of the game and any momentum Drexel tried to carry over. The lead eventually stretched to 17 after a layup by redshirt senior Dimitrije Cabarkapa made it 59-42 with 10:32 remaining.
Madison kept Drexel out of reach to close the game down the stretch, with Brown adding a dagger three-pointer with just 1:44 to spare that made it 72-60, all but clinching the win.
After missing the last four games due to injury, Jonsson came off the bench and provided a spark in the first half, leading all players with 11 points in 11 minutes of action. The Dragons stifled the Dukes early, holding Madison to just two points for the eight-plus minutes of the game.
Austin Williams’ dunk with 5:11 left in the period pushed the the lead to 10, 22-12, with DU entering the break ahead, 33-25.
Notes: JMU has now won eight straight in the series between the two teams, including a regular season sweep of the Dragons this year. Kent’s 16 points in the second half came on 6-of-8 shooting. Madison made 24 of its 32 free throw attempts. Drexel went 7-of-25 from behind the arc.