Satkus Powers Dukes to Win Over Eastern Mennonite

Wednesday, December 28

Harrisonburg, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

2-11

Eastern Mennonite

6-5

Eastern Mennonite

James Madison

12/28/2016 11:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison got a career-high 22 points from senior forward Paulius Satkus and outscored Eastern Mennonite by a 45-28 margin in the second half on Wednesday evening at the JMU Convocation Center, as the Dukes picked up an 82-65 win in their final non-conference action of the season.

The Dukes (2-11) focused their offense on the post, particularly in the second half, which saw JMU go 18-of-31 (58 percent) from the floor and 17-of-25 (68 percent) from inside the three-point line against the undersized Royals (6-5).

Satkus provided much of the efficiency, sinking nine of his 12 shots in just 25 minutes, while adding six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal in his best performance in a JMU uniform. Senior guard Jackson Kent racked up 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting en route to his sixth double-digit performance of the season.

Senior forward Ivan Lukic put together his best performance of the season, going 5-of-6 from the field on his way to a 10-point, 8-rebound performance that set new season bests in both categories, while junior guard Ramone Snowden compiled another solid evening with 12 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals.

After a back-and-forth first half that saw the teams go to halftime tied at 37-37, JMU turned up the pressure, holding the hot-shooting Royals to a 2-of-13 (15 percent) clip from beyond the arc after EMU had made nine of its 19 three-pointers in the opening period.

The Dukes went just 3-of-11 on three-pointers in the first half, but forced the ball down low after the break, attempting just six long-range shots and racking up 30 points in the paint in the final stanza.

Jerome Jones and Isaiah Harris-Winn paced EMU on the evening, racking up 16 points each, while RaShawn Latimer added 14 of his own on 6-of-9 shooting.

QUOTING COACH ROWE
"It's really good for us to get a home win. I really respect the way EMU is coached and the way they play the game. That team knows how to win and we're trying to clear that hump, so I loved our energy in the second half. We need to build on that and keep that energy level moving forward."

DOMINATING THE BOARDS
For the 12th time in 13 games, the Dukes won the rebounding battle, rolling to a 36-22 advantage on the glass. After entering halftime tied at 14-14, JMU dominated the second half, pulling down 22 boards to the Royals' eight.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will open up Colonial Athletic Association play this weekend, when they welcome Drexel to the Convo at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 31. The Dragons went 6-7 in non-conference play after dropping a 75-67 decision at Penn on Wednesday evening.