Dragons Defeat JMU, 63-56, for 20th Win of the Season

Wednesday, February 8

Harrisonburg, Va.

7:00

Drexel University

James Madison

Dragons Defeat JMU, 63-56, for 20th Win of the Season

2/8/2012 8:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Harrisonburg, Va. – Frantz Massenat scored 16 points and Samme Givens added 14 points and 13 rebounds as Drexel defeated James Madison, 63-56, for its 20^th win of the season. The Dragons have now hit the 20-win mark in consecutive years for the first time since the 1996-97 season. It was the team's 12^th straight victory.

Drexel (20-5, 12-2 CAA) went on a 12-2 run early in the second half to open up what had been a close game. James Madison (10-16, 3-11) didn't go away as Humpty Hitchens nailed a three-pointer, Enoch Hood had a dunk and Devon Moore had another three to get the lead down to seven with 3:35 left. Drexel was able to hold on as Givens scored four points in the final three minutes. Drexel shot 50 percent in the second half and once again did the job at the line, making 12 of 14 in the final 20 minutes. For the game, Drexel shot 84 percent. The Dragons came into the contest leading the CAA in free throw shooting.

Givens had his fifth double-double of the season and had a season-best 13 rebounds. He moved into seventh place on the CAA's career rebounding list, passing Alex Loughton of Old Dominion and George Evans of George Mason. The senior now has 959 career boards. Daryl McCoy added eight rebounds and scored six points, all in the second half.
Massenat made his first free throw of the game, extending his streak to 34 straight without a miss, which tied the Drexel record set by three players. He missed his next free throw, which would have given him the outright record. Massenat played the entire game and committed just one turnover. He had a pair of assists and three steals. Damion Lee chipped in with 12 points.

James Madison made its first three shots of the game, including a pair of three pointers by A.J. Davis, and raced to an early 8-0 lead. On the other end, Drexel missed its first six shots from the floor before going on an 11-0 run of its own. Drexel's lead increased to as many as six points at 26-20 when Givens scored on a short bank shot with 3:14 left. Those would be Drexel's last points of the half. JMU's Humpty Hitchens answered with a three-pointer to cut it to three and Enoch Hood made one of two from the line with 4.8 seconds left to make as Drexel's lead at the half was 26-24. The Dragons shot just 32 percent in the first half, but still held the lead. The Dukes were 5-for-12 from deep in the half against the nation's top-ranked three-point defense. They finished the game 9-for-22 from deep. Davis led the team with 13 points.

The Dragons finally return to the Daskalakis Athletic Center this weekend. Drexel will look for its 14^th straight home win when it takes on Hofstra at 4 p.m. It is the first of two consecutive games at the DAC.