Fouch, Williams Lead Dragons Past James Madison, 78-60

Saturday, February 8

Daskalakis Athletic Center

2:00

Drexel University

13-10, 5-5CAA

James Madison

8-16, 3-7CAA

James Madison

Drexel

Fouch, Williams Lead Dragons Past James Madison, 78-60

2/8/2014 3:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score PDF

Philadelphia, Pa. – Chris Fouch scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half and Rodney Williams picked up his first career double-double as Drexel defeated James Madison, 78-60, this afternoon at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.

The Dragons (13-10, 5-5 CAA) broke open a close game early in the second half. Ron Curry's bucket at the 19:17 mark cut Drexel's lead to one, but that was the last basket for the Dukes (8-16, 3-7 CAA) for a stretch of more than six minutes. During that time, the Dragons went on a 12-0 run and stretched their lead to 51-38. The James Madison deficit stayed at 10 or more the rest of the way, due in large part to Fouch. The graduate student sank four three-pointers in the final 12 minutes of the half. With his final three-pointer, Fouch moved past Mike DeRocckis into fifth place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,623 career points. Earlier in the contest, he passed Drexel legend Bob Stephens for sixth place.

Drexel's defense was outstanding in the final 20 minutes. The Dragons held the Dukes to just five field goals in the second half. JMU shot 25 percent from the floor and missed all of its six long-range attempts. On the other end, Drexel shot consistent throughout the game. The Dragons were over 50 percent in each half and ended the game going 7-for-15 from deep.

In the first half, James Madison was hot in the early going. The Dukes made six of their first nine long-range attempts and opened up a 32-26 lead with just over three minutes left in the first half. However, the Dragons answered with a late 10-1 run to take the lead before intermission. The run ended when Charles Cooke sank a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds remaining in the half. Drexel went to halftime ahead, 36-35.

Williams had one of his best games as a Dragon. The freshman from Richmond finished with a career-high 14 points to go along with 10 rebounds. He was 4-for-6 from the field, made six of his eight free throw attempts and blocked four shots. Frantz Massenat added 16 points as the Dragons won their second straight game. Drexel had solid contributions up front from Dartaye Ruffin (eight points, seven rebounds) and freshman Mohamed Bah (eight rebounds). The Dragons were playing without Kazembe Abif, who suffered a fracture in his hand and will miss the remainder of the season.

Charles Cooke led the Dukes with 18 points. Curry added 17, while Andrey Semenov chipped in with 12 points. The Dukes played without Andre Nation, who did not make the trip to Philadelphia.

The Dragons have a few days off before taking the court again. Drexel makes its first visit to the College of Charleston on Thursday night in a game that can be seen live on the NBC Sports Network at 7 p.m.