TOWSON, Md. - Junior guard Devon Moore scored six points in the final 1:29 as James Madison University (11-16, 4-11) survived a frantic comeback by Towson University (1-26, 1-14) to escape the Towson Center with a 58-56 Colonial Athletic Association victory over the Tigers on Saturday afternoon.
The Dukes, who snapped a five-game losing streak, were able to win despite being outrebounded by a 49-19 margin.
With 1:29 remaining, Moore gave the Dukes a 54-53 lead when he scored on a running 10-footer along the left baseline. After Towson freshman guard Kris Walden missed a 17-foot jumper, the Dukes got a rare team rebound.
With 26 seconds left, Moore was fouled on a drive to the basket. He made both free throws to give the Dukes a 56-53 advantage. After Walden made two free throws with 11 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 56-55, Moore was fouled in the back court with eight seconds remaining.
Moore, who scored 10 points in the game, calmly made both free throws to restore the Dukes' three-point advantage. With the Tigers trying to set up for a three-point attempt that would tie the game, Walden was fouled out front with four seconds left.
After hitting the first free throw to cut the lead to 58-56, he intentionally missed the second free throw. Junior Gene Swindle of JMU kicked the ball out of bounds to give the Tigers a chance to tie the game with 3.2 seconds left. Walden inbounded the ball to sophomore Marcus Damas, who couldn't connect on a 10-footer as the clock ran out.
The Dukes got off to a great start in the first half as they grabbed a 7-0 lead in the first three minutes. When junior Andrey Semenov and junior Humpty Hitchens nailed early three-pointers, the Dukes had a 13-2 lead. The Tigers, who missed 14 of their first 15 shots, were trailing by 21-5 when Damas nailed a three-pointer with 6:56 remaining in the first half.
JMU responded by extending its lead to 28-10 with 5:20 left in the first half. It would be the Dukes' largest lead of the game. The Dukes went to halftime with a 36-21 lead as they scored 15 points off Towson's 11 turnovers.
As much as the Dukes dominated the first half, the Tigers dominated the second half. The Tigers gradually cut into JMU's lead and pulled to within 41-32 with 13:37 remaining on a jumper by senior Robert Nwankwo.
With 8:47 left, Semenov drilled a three-pointer to give the Dukes a 49-41 advantage. Over the next five minutes, the Tigers went on a 10-0 run, tying the game at 49-49 on a three-point play by Nwankwo with 4:38 left.
With 3:51 remaining, Damas gave the Tigers' their first lead at 51-49 when he nailed two free throws. With the shot clock winding down, Hitchens connected on his fifth three-pointer of the game to give the Dukes a 52-51 lead. The Tigers went back ahead with 2:51 left when Nwankwo made two free throws.
After Moore was called for an offensive foul with 2:34 remaining, the Tigers had a chance to extend their lead but Walden turned the ball over. That set the stage for Moore's last-minute heroics.
While recording his 11th double-double of the year, Nwankwo led the Tigers to their plus-30 rebounding margin. He scored a team-high 15 points and grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds. Damas added 14 points for the Tigers, who suffered their closest loss of the season.
Hitchens and Semenov led the Dukes as they combined for 35 points while teaming up to shoot 10-for-16 from three-point range. Hitchens had 18 points as he shot 6-for-9 from the floor and 5-for-8 from three-point range. Semenov added 17 points and was also 5-for-8 from three point range.
The Tigers return to action on Tuesday night at Northeastern.
-TowsonTigers.com-
