Hot Shooting JMU Downs Drexel in Harrisonburg, 82-78.

Wednesday, February 18

Harrisburg, Va.

7:00

Drexel University

10-16, 8-7CAA

James Madison

17-11, 10-5CAA

Drexel

James Madison

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Hot Shooting JMU Downs Drexel in Harrisonburg, 82-78.

2/18/2015 9:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Harrisonburg, Va. – James Madison shot a blistering 83 percent in the second half and defeated Drexel, 82-78, on Wednesday night at the JMU Convocation Center. It was the fourth straight win for James Madison (17-11, 10-5), who stayed within one game of CAA leader UNCW. With the loss, the Dragons dropped to 8-6 in league play and 10-16 overall.

The Dukes went on a 13-4 run midway through the second half to take the lead for good. Sammy Mojica made a three-pointer to tie the game at 49-49 right before the Dukes made the run. Ron Curry, who scored 25 points for JMU, started it with a lay-in and after a Drexel miss, Joey McLean beat the Dragons down court and scored on a lay-up. Drexel's Rashann London made a pair of free throws, but the Dukes answered with five straight. Despite the Dukes hot shooting, the Dragons kept battling and forced a few turnovers in the final minutes. Drexel hit five three-pointers in the final 2:21 as JMU's lead went from 11 to just three with 23 seconds to play. Curry sank one of two free throws with 19 seconds left to make it 82-78. The Dragons forced one more turnover, but Mojica's three with six seconds left missed and the Dukes were victorious.

The Dragons wasted one of their best offensive performances of the season. Damion Lee led all players with 26 points. The junior eclipsed the 1,500 point mark and now has 1,508 points in his career. Lee moved past Brian Holden and Michael Thompson on Drexel's career scoring list and now sits alone in 10^th place. Freddie Wilson came off the bench to tie a career-high with 16 points. The senior was 4-for-5 from long range. London scored 13 points and handed out a career-best six assists. Mojica was also in double figures with 11 points. The freshman also had three assists and three steals. For the game, Drexel shot 14-for-30 from deep and finished shooting 43 percent from the floor.

The Dukes, who made 15 of their 18 shots in the second half, finished the game shooting 57 percent from the floor. Curry was 5-for-9 shooting and was 13-for-16 from the line. Tom Vodanovich had a career-high 18 points, while Dimitrije Cabarkapa chipped in with 12 and Yohanny Dalembert scored 10 points.

Drexel will head back to Philadelphia tonight and get ready for another difficult road game this weekend. The Dragons face Northeastern in a game than can be seen live on the NBC Sports Network at 4 p.m.