Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
James Madison
@HerdMBB Falls at James Madison, 107-84
12/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HARRISONBURG, Va. - Senior forward James Kelly (Ann Arbor, Mich.) posted a career-high 21 points and added 11 rebounds for his second double-double as Marshall men's basketball (0-6) fell at James Madison (7-3), 107-84, on Sunday at the JMU Convocation Center.
Junior forward Ryan Taylor (Indianapolis) added a season-high 19 points and pulled down five rebounds. Freshman forward Ajdin Penava (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina) had career-highs of 12 points and five rebounds off the bench, and junior guard Stevie Browning (Logan, W.Va.) had 15 points and five assists.
"We've been playing against veteran teams and it's a young team that we have," second-year coach Dan D'Antoni said. "We'll see what happens. [Brown] and [Curry] were very good. I thought [James] Kelly and Ryan [Taylor] did a good job getting up in there for us, but we just couldn't hang in there. We ran into a good ball club. We have to give them credit. They played well. They've been through the wars together, and we haven't."
For the Dukes, a potent combination of forward Shakir Brown (30 points) and point guard Ron Curry (20 points) made up nearly half of JMU's offense. Brown's 30 points are the most allowed by Marshall since Jeromie Hill had 36 for UTSA on Jan. 22, 2015.
Marshall took a brief lead on a 7-2 run over the first five minutes of the game. The teams tied, 8-8, at 15:46, before trading leads at the 14-minute mark. From 15:46 to 12:13, the Dukes had six consecutive makes, which converted into a 16-4 run, and pulled into a 22-12 lead.
From that point, the Herd came as close as seven points within catching the Dukes, down 37-30 with 3:35 remaining before the break. However, the Dukes' sharp-shooting continued and led to a 14-point lead at 1:01 (47-33). A layup from Taylor just before the break put the halftime score at 47-35. After starting 1-of-9 from long range, Marshall shot 3-of-16 for the half, while the Dukes shot at a 50 percent clip (5-of-10).
In the second half, the Herd made it a nine-point game in the opening minute of play (47-38, 19:37), but that was as close as it would be. Ultimately, a 9-0 run that lasted 1:10 gave the Dukes their widest margin of 27, up 99-72 with 3:29 left. JMU reached the century mark with 2:47 to go, and pushed the final tally to 107-84. The Dukes' 107 points are the most allowed by the Herd since a 116-76 loss to Kent State on Feb. 19, 2002.
Marshall shot a season-best 43.1 percent (31-of-72) from the field, but the Dukes shot 50.0 percent (34-of-68). JMU had the advantage in rebounding, 54-34.
MILESTONES
- James Kelly: 21 points (career high, most by a Herd player this season), double-double (team-leading second of season)
- Ryan Tyalor: 19 points (season high)
- Ajdin Penava: 12 points (career high), five rebounds (career high)
- Jacob Kilgore: 3 points (career high)
- Milan Mijovic: 2 points (season high)
The Herd will host three games over five days at Cam Henderson Center, starting with Eastern Illinois on Wednesday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m. For the latest information about Marshall men's basketball, follow @HerdMBB on Twitter.
---HerdZone.com---
