Givens Leads Men's Basketball Past James Madison, 67-64

Saturday, February 27

Harrisonburg, Va.

7:00

Drexel University

James Madison

Samme Givens led the Dragons with 21 points at JMU

Givens Leads Men's Basketball Past James Madison, 67-64

2/27/2010 10:05:25 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Harrisonburg, Va. – Samme Givens scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half as Drexel rallied from a 12-point deficit to defeat James Madison, 67-64, in a tightly contested contest.. The Dragons improved to 11-7 in the CAA and 16-15 overall.

The Dragons went ahead for good when Chris Fouch made two free throws with 40 seconds left. Freshman Daryl McCoy then came up with a big defensive rebound, was fouled and calmly sank a pair of free throws. JMU trimmed the lead to one point when Pierre Curtis scored on a put-back with 12.7 seconds left, but Fouch made two free throws to give the Dragons a three-point cushion. James Madison had a chance to tie the game, but Julius Wells' three-point attempt just before the final buzzer bounced off the rim and the Dragons snapped their three-game losing streak.

The game featured 11 lead changes and 11 ties, including 10 in the second half. Drexel held JMU without a field goal for the first 5:38 minutes of the second half and tied the game up at 33-33 when Gerald Colds scored on a driving lay-up. The Dukes got the lead back up to five, but Drexel came back and took the lead for the first time in the second half. Jamie Harris knocked down a three-pointer to put the Dragons ahead, 47-46. The game went back and forth the rest of the way.

James Madison's offense was clicking early. The Dukes shot 50 percent from the floor, made six three-pointers in the first half and led by as many as 12 points in the early going. The Dukes scored seven straight points and went on a 10-2 run, capped by a Matt Parker three-pointer, to increase their lead to 30-18 with just under four minutes to play in the first half. Drexel chipped away at the lead with a pair of Derrick Thomas jump shots and trailed by a score of 30-22 at intermission. Thomas led the Dragons with nine points in the half. Parker, who came into the game averaging just 2.5 points, scored 11 in the half and had three three-pointers.

Givens was 9-for-11 from the line and also came up with seven rebounds and three steals. Harris finished with 10 points and McCoy picked up seven rebounds. Drexel shot 87.5 percent from the line, sinking 21 of its 24 free throws. The Dragons also owned the glass, outrebounding the Dukes, 40-28, with 19 of those boards coming on the offensive end.

Curtis led four Dukes in double figures with 15 points. Denzel Bowles added 13 points and six rebounds.

The two teams will meet again on Friday night in the opening round of the CAA Championship in Richmond, Va. The Dragons are the sixth seed, while the Dukes are the 11th seed. Game time is set for 8:30 p.m. at the Richmond Coliseum.