Depth Leads Dukes Past Elon

Wednesday, February 3

Harrisonburg, Va.

4 p.m.

James Madison University

10-5,5-1CAA

Elon

3-6,0-5CAA

Elon

James Madison

2/3/2021 9:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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HARRISONBURG, Va. - Four players scored in double figures and James Madison got 32 points from its bench on Wednesday evening, as the Dukes cruised to a 78-57 win over Elon in Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball at the Atlantic Union Bank Center.

The Dukes (10-5, 5-1 CAA) continued their run of strong defense, holding Elon (3-6, 0-5 CAA) to just 33.9% (19-of-56) shooting from the field and forcing 13 turnovers as they sprinted out to an early lead and held off a late second-half push to roll to their fourth straight victory.

Freshman Terell Strickland kept up his scoring binge, raising his career high to 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-6 from long range, while adding five boards and two steals. Junior Jalen Hodge and senior Zach Jacobs added 13 and 11 points, respectively, off the bench.

Senior Matt Lewis tallied 14 points despite a cold shooting night, hitting a crucial fadeaway to halt the late Elon run while adding four rebounds and four steals.

Elon rushed out of the gate, taking an 11-6 lead in the first five minutes, but the Dukes immediately responded with a 14-4 run to take a lead they wouldn't surrender for the remainder of the contest.

After JMU took a 42-25 lead into the halftime break, they maintained the lead for much of the second half, pushing the lead to as many as 23 with 9:37 to play.

The Phoenix responded to that advantage with 14 straight points to cut things to 61-52 with 5:12 to play, but sophomore Julien Wooden and Lewis hit back-to-back baskets to start a 10-0 run and put the lead out of reach.

Sophomore Hunter McIntosh led the way for the Phoenix, hitting 7-of-14 shots from the field to rack up 19 points on the afternoon.

QUOTING COACH BYINGTON
"Any time you beat a team by 20 points, you never complain. Elon is scrappy and plays hard - they do some things that are kind of difficult for us. The two things that stuck out today to me were: our defense was really good and our bench was really good. Our bench had energy, made plays and extended leads. In my mind, our defense and our bench won us the game today."

QUICK HITS
- The win gave the Dukes a four-game win streak in CAA play since winning five league games in a row from Jan. 9-23, 2016.
- Sophomore forward Michael Christmas matched his career high with three steals on the evening as the Dukes racked up 11 - their second-most this season.
- Strickland's scoring performance made him the fifth different JMU player to lead the team in scoring this season.
- Junior guard Vado Morse matched his season high with five assists.
- Strickland went 3-of-6 from long range to raise his season three-point clip to 33.3%.

CAA STANDINGS
1. Northeastern | 8-6, 7-1 CAA
2. James Madison | 10-5, 5-1
3. Hofstra | 11-6, 7-3
4. Delaware | 7-7, 5-4
5. William & Mary | 6-7, 4-4
6. College of Charleston | 5-8, 3-3
7. Drexel | 7-6, 2-4
8. Towson | 3-10, 2-6
9. UNCW | 7-8, 1-5
10. Elon | 3-8, 0-5

UP NEXT
The Dukes are currently scheduled to be back in action next Tuesday, Feb. 9, when they travel to Wilmington, N.C. for a game at UNCW at 4 p.m. The Seahawks have a two-game set at Elon this weekend and currently sit at 7-8 (1-5 CAA), having lost five of their last six.