Cabarkapa's Career Night Lifts JMU To 106-74 Win Over EMU

Tuesday, November 24

Harrisonburg, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

3-3

106

Eastern Mennonite

3-2

Eastern Mennonite

James Madison

106

Cabarkapa's Career Night Lifts JMU To 106-74 Win Over EMU

11/24/2015 9:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Fueled by a career-high 27 points from redshirt junior forward Dimitrije Cabarkapa, James Madison earned a 106-74 victory over cross-town Eastern Mennonite in non-conference men's basketball action on Tuesday night at the JMU Convocation Center.

Facing the Royals for the first time in 40 years, the Dukes moved to 3-3 on the strength of their first 100-point performance since putting up 110 at Seton Hall on Dec. 22, 2007 and first 100-point effort in regulation since a win over Siena on Nov. 9, 2007. It was also JMU's first win by more than 30 points since they defeated Towson, 99-68, during the 2011-12 season. EMU fell to 3-2 with the loss.

Cabarkapa was at the center of Madison's offensive explosion, setting his new career scoring mark on 83-percent (10-for-12) shooting from the floor, including a 60-percent (3-for-5) clip from behind the arc and a perfect 4-for-4 evening from the free throw line, despite playing just 17 minutes.

After JMU took a 53-29 lead into the locker room, the Royals battled back early, opening the second half on a 10-2 run that cut the Dukes' lead to 16 before Madison responded with a 9-0 run of its own that put the contest out of reach. The Dukes shot 65.5-percent (38-for-58) from the floor on the evening, hitting 15 of their 24 three-pointers and 75-percent (15-for-20) of their free throws.

With senior guard Ron Curry battling illness and playing only eight minutes, senior guard Winston Grays III and redshirt junior guard Devontae Morgan picked up the slack, tallying seven assists each. Morgan added five rebounds and a steal while Grays filled the stat sheet with two blocks and two steals.

Junior forward Ivan Lukic tied his career high with 10 points in just 13 minutes, sinking a pair of jumpers and all six of his free throw attempts, while junior guard Shakir Brown sank four three-pointers in the span of 2:06 to finish with 12 points on the evening.

QUOTING COACH BRADY
"I thought our team played well; I have to give Kirby Dean and his team all the credit in the world. I thought they played well; I thought they played hard. I really like his team. Our guys had a good night. In the last 15 minutes of the first half, we did what we wanted to defensively."

PLAY OF THE GAME - COMPLETE HIGHLIGHTS

Junior forward Yohanny Dalembert steals an errant EMU pass and slams home a dunk. The putback slam started a string of six straight made field goals heading into halftime, staking the Dukes a 53-29 lead at the break.

FAST OUT OF THE GATES
JMU opened the contest at a breakneck pace, hitting its first six three-pointers and six of its first seven field goal attempts. The performance kick-started the Dukes' 53-point first half, marking their first 50-point opening period since a 56-point opening half in a 111-77 win over Liberty on Dec. 2, 1998.

COMPLETE TEAM EFFORT
All 13 of the Dukes' eligible players saw the floor on Tuesday, with 12 scoring at least a point and 11 scoring at least five. All but one player pulled down at least one rebound as well, as JMU outrebounded the Royals, 34-22.

PHOTO OF THE GAME - COMPLETE PHOTO GALLERY

Senior guard Ron Curry is recognized before the game for scoring his 1,000th career point in last year's CAA Tournament matchup with Hofstra. Curry is the 29th player in JMU history to break the 1,000-point barrier and is the only player to ever tally 1,000 points, 300 assists, 100 three-pointers and 100 steals.

UP NEXT
The Dukes are back in action on Friday, Nov. 27, when they head to Huntington, W.Va. to face Marshall in a 7 p.m. bout. The Thundering Herd will be playing their first home game after starting the season 0-2, falling at Tennessee (74-84) and Morehead State (61-85).