Dukes Set to Open League Play at Towson

James Madison Dukes (5-4) at Towson Tigers (1-4)

January 15, 2021 -- 2 p.m.

Towson, Md. -- SECU Arena

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The James Madison Dukes are scheduled to, at long last, open up their Colonial Athletic Association slate on Saturday afternoon, as they travel north to face Towson in a 2 p.m. bout at SECU Arena.
This contest was originally scheduled to be played on Jan. 3 before requiring postponement due to a positive CoVID-19 case inside the Towson program. It would have been both teams' CAA opener on that date as well.
Entering the weekend, the Dukes have improved to 5-4 on the season after picking up a 100-76 victory over Chowan College last Sunday in a game scheduled to replace other postponed CAA contests.
Seniors Matt Lewis and Zach Jacobs return to lead a new-look JMU squad that welcomes 10 newcomers and returns just five players from last season's 9-21 campaign that saw the Dukes go 2-16 in league play.
Lewis is averaging 21.7 points per contest through the opening nine games, climbing to third place on JMU's all-time scoring list, while newcomer guard Vado Morse is adding 11.9 ppg with the help of a 40.5% clip from three.
Fresh off his first career CAA Rookie of the Week nod, freshman Justin Amadi enters Saturday averaging 9.4 points per contest on an impressive 76.6% (36-47) percentage from the floor, to go along with 4.4 rebounds per game.
The Dukes' other freshmen are also off to strong starts, with Terell Strickland averaging 5.0p/2.7r/3.3a/2.2s through the opening weeks and Terrence Edwards checking in at 6.3p/5.6r/2.2a while leading the Dukes in rebounding.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS

Towson will be playing its first game in nearly three weeks when it welcomes the Dukes to SECU Arena, having last taken the court in a 78-73 victory over Coppin State back on Dec. 26. The win was the Tigers' first of the year, moving them to 1-4 on the season.
Senior guard Zane Martin, who has returned to Towson for the 2020-21 season, leads the Tigers at all ends of the court at 14.2 points per contest, while sophomore guard Nicolas Timberlake, last season's CAA Sixth Man of the Year, checks in at 13.4ppg with the help of a 42.3% clip from the three-point line.

SERIES HISTORY

Towson ranks among the most frequent opponents in program history for the Dukes, with the two teams having met 54 times entering Saturday's contest, the seventh-most of any school that JMU has faced.
Although Towson swept the season series in 2019-20, the Dukes still hold a commanding 35-19 lead in the all-time series between the two programs, though the Tigers have a 13-12 edge in games played on their home court. JMU dropped a 69-61 decision at Towson last season, with the Dukes' comeback falling just short after they found themselves trailing by 21 in the second half.

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