TOWSON, Md. - Despite a career high effort by senior Denzel Bowles, the Tigers only trailed James Madison by 58-57 with 5:15 remaining but they couldn't get any closer as the Dukes pulled away for a 72-61 Colonial Athletic Association victory in the Towson Center on Tuesday evening.
Bowles recorded only the fifth 40-point game in Towson Center history as he shot 14-for-20 from the floor and scored 40 points to lead the Dukes (19-9, 9-7) past the Tigers (4-22, 0-16).
With the Dukes clinging to a 50-49 lead and less than nine minutes remaining, Bowles scored ten points during a five-minute stretch as JMU extended its lead to 62-57 with 4:14 left in the game. The Dukes, who beat the Tigers by 99-68 last month, clinched the win by holding Towson without a basket for the final 5:15 of the game.
After freshman Dre Conner made two free throws with 4:11 remaining to cut the lead to 62-59, the Dukes closed out the game by scoring 10 of the last 12 points.
By scoring a career high 40 points, Bowles joined Darren Quenan of Lehigh (49), Derell Thompson (43) of UMBC, Mike Polaha of Lehigh (42) and Gary Neal of Towson (41) as players who scored 40 points in the Towson Center.
The second-leading scorer in the CAA, Bowles came into the game with an 18.0 scoring average. He scored 20 points in each half. While making 14 of 20 shots from the floor, he hit 12 of 17 free throw attempts and grabbed five rebounds.
"It continues to sound like a broken record to a certain extent," said Towson Coach Pat Kennedy. "But, in the first half, against probably the most physically talented team in the league, it's 33-33.
"Bowles had an NBA night with his 40 points," he added. "It just seems like we're tiring in those last five or six minutes."
While Bowles scored 40 points, the Tigers held junior Julius Wells, the Dukes' second-leading scorer, without a point.
Sophomore guard Devon Moore added 14 points, five assists and three steals for the Dukes, who outrebounded the Tigers by a 37-27 margin.
Led by Bowles, the Dukes built an 18-9 lead in the opening ten minutes of the game as Bowles scored 13 of the Dukes' first 18 points.
However, the Tigers responded with a 15-6 run and tied the game at 24-24 on a three-point basket by Conner with 4:50 remaining in the half. During the Tigers' run, junior RaShawn Polk connected on back-to-back three-point field goal attempts.
When Bowles scored on a baseline layup with one second remaining in the half, the game was tied at 33-33 at intermission. In the first half, Bowles scored 20 of the Dukes' 33 points while making seven of ten shots from the floor.
Polk led the Tigers with 13 points in the first half as he made three of four three-pointers.
The Dukes broke from the gate at the start of the second half by scoring eight of the first ten points after intermission to take a 41-35 lead.
A three-point basket by Towson's Isaiah Philmore with 10:51 remaining tied the game at 47-47. Moments later, senior guard Josh Brown nailed a short jumper in the lane to give the Tigers a 49-48 lead. With 9:44 remaining, Andrey Semenov hit a 14-foot jumper to give the Dukes a 50-49 advantage and they never trailed again.
After being held to 41.9 per cent shooting in the first half, JMU warmed up in the second half, hitting 62 per cent (13-21 FGA) from the floor.
Philmore, who was the co-winner of the CAA Player of the Week award last week, led the Tigers with 18 points. He also had a team high eight rebounds.
The loss was Towson's 15th consecutive defeat.
The Tigers, who haven't won since Dec. 29, 2010 at LaSalle, return to action on Saturday, February 19 when they host Loyola University at 7:00 p.m. in a Bracketbusters matchup.
