TOWSON, Md. - Coming off their own home finale from Wednesday night, the Tigers travel to Harrisonburg, Va., to face James Madison on the Dukes' "Senior Day" at 4 p.m. in the JMU Convocation Center.
The Dukes won the first meeting on Feb. 11 by a 58-56 margin. Towson managed to outrebound the Dukes by an astonishing 49-19 margin but shot just 28% from the field. Senior Robert Nwankwo led the Tigers with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
With the win, James Madison now leads the series, 25-10, and has won five of the last six meetings. The Tigers last defeated the Dukes in February, 2010.
The Dukes (11-19, 4-13 CAA) have been hampered by injuries this season. They lost senior big man Rashawn Goins (9.7 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game in 2010-11) to a shoulder injury early in the season. They also lost senior small forward Julius Wells (8.6 ppg) with an undisclosed illness in early January.
JMU has lost three straight and eight of their last nine games. In their last two games against Detroit and Drexel, the Dukes were without second-leading scorer, Humpty Hitchens, who was out with a shoulder injury.
The Dukes average 66.4 points per game and allow 70.2 points per game. They shoot 42% from the floor and allow teams to shoot 44% from the field. The Dukes are second in the CAA in three-point shooting (37.4%), but allow teams to shoot 36.9%.
Losing Goins has hampered the Dukes' board work as they have been outrebounded by an average of 5.3 boards per game. JMU commits 13.1 turnovers per game and forces 13.7 turnovers per game.
James Madison is still a very talented team, especially in the backcourt. Junior guard Devon Moore (6-4, 180) is a talented combo guard who averages 8.9 points per game and shoots 43% from the field. Moore is second on the team with 88 assists and also has committed just 49 turnovers.
Hitchens (5-9, 185), a former transfer from Akron, is second on the team in scoring with a 15.3 average. He's expected to get the start despite the injury. He shoots 43% from the field and 40% (79-199) from three-point range while leading the league with 2.8 made treys per game. He also leads the team by averaging 3.9 assists per game and is second with 37 steals. He had 18 points and nailed five treys against Towson on Feb. 11.
Junior guard A.J. Davis (6-6, 210) is a transfer from Wyoming who is one of the best newcomers in the league. He leads the team in scoring with an average of 16.4 points per game while contributing 1.8 steals and 4.7 rebounds per contest. He shoots 44.4% from the field and 35% (51-148) from beyond the arc.
Up front, junior power forward Andrey Semenov (6-7, 205) is your prototypical "face-up four." He had 31 points in two games against the Tigers last season. In the previous game at Towson, Semenov scored 17 points and hit five three-pointers. This year, he averages 10.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 44% from the floor and 45% (58-130) from beyond the arc, which is the second-highest percentage in the CAA. He also leads the team with 29 blocks.
Freshman Enoch Hood (6-8, 210) has started 14 of 30 games at the other post spot. He averages 5.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 45% from the floor in 19.3 minutes per contest.
Redshirt junior center Gene Swindle (6-11, 260), a transfer from Virginia Tech, gives the team size in the post. He has started 11 of 29 games, averaging 2.7 points per game and 2.7 rebounds per game.
Freshman Arman Marks (6-4, 200) provides 4.3 points per game and shoots 37% (22-59) from beyond the arc. He has started for Hitchens in the last two games and scored 17 points.
Junior Alioune Diouf (6-5, 210) adds 3.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game off the bench.
Saturday's game will be broadcast on WNST-AM 1570 with Spiro Morekas and Vince Angotti on the call. There will also be a live in-game blog on TowsonTigers.com beginning at around 4 p.m.
