Box Score
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HARRISONBURG, VA— Sophomore point guard Andre Smith scored a career-high 26 points, but the Winthrop men's basketball team suffered a 71-61 loss at James Madison, Saturday afternoon.

Smith, who doubled-up his previous career-high of 13 points, finished the game 8-for-13 (4-for-6 behind the arc) and 6-for-7 at the foul line. Smith hit four of the Eagles seven three-pointers. Smith broke out of a shooting slump that had seen him hit just nine of his last 36 shots.

Winthrop falls to 2-4 on the year and 0-3 on the road while JMU improves to 2-5 and 1-1 at home.

The Eagles were outscored 20-6 to start the second half and fell behind by 20 points. Winthrop did battle back to pull within 10 points down the stretch and a chance to cut the lead to single digits. Joab Jerome pushed the ball up the floor and drove the ball down the lane, hitting a runner while drawing a foul to make it a 58-48 game with 4:29 remaining. Jerome missed the free throw and JMU answered with a three-point play on the other end as Moore scored inside and converted the free throw. Derrick Henry tried to answer with a three, but his foot was on the line on a long jumper as the Eagles pulled back within 11 points.

Down the stretch the Eagles showed a lot of fight. JMU increased the lead back to 15 points before Winthrop was able to cut it down to eight points with 42 seconds to play on a very deep three from Smith. The Eagles fouled, but Charles Cooke and Andrey Semenov each converted free throws to push the lead back to double-figures each time.

“Once again to our kid's credit I think we have a lot of heart and determination in that locker room and those kids didn't quit, didn't lay down, kept fighting and made it a game at the end,” said Winthrop head coach Pat Kelsey. “This team is capable of more and I'm not going to accept less. At the end of the day it's not always about what the scoreboard says. You're competing against your potential as a player, your potential as a team and I do think we're capable of more.”

The game began with both teams draining threes as the first seven field goals of the game were made behind the arc. JMU opened up with two threes for a 6-0 lead and, but the first three baskets for Winthrop came from three triples by Smith to tie the game at 9-9. After two free throws by Alioune Diouf, Winthrop went on a 9-0 run to open up an 18-11 lead, forcing a JMU timeout.

The Dukes came out of the timeout and responded with a 10-2 run and outscored the Eagles 23-10 the remainder of the half for a 34-28 lead at the break. Winthrop connected on six threes in the first half to spark the offense, but nine turnovers allowed the Dukes to build the six-point advantage at the break.

Gideon Gamble (R-Sr.) had a strong game off the bench with 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting to go along with four rebounds and two steals. Henry, the team's leading scorer, failed to reach double-figures for the first time on the season as he was just 3-for-12 from the field and finished with nine points.

“I would say one thing that we definitely more of is more production from our post players. You look at the line between James Bourne, Larry Brown, Steve Johnson and Shola Diop I think those guys were 1-for-6 from the field. Right now our scoring punch comes almost strictly from the perimeter, from perimeter jump shots and we have to be able to score the ball close to the basket and get to the free throw line more.”

Winthrop finished the game shooting 42 percent while JMU finished at 46 percent from the floor. JMU finished 20-for-26 at the foul line while Winthrop was 10-for-12.

JMU got a big game from Semenov, who had only played two minutes all season, as he dropped in 17 points in 19 minutes off the bench. Rayshawn Goins led the Dukes with 19 points as he was just 6-for-9 from the field and 7-for-9 from the field.

“He's a matchup problem,” said Kelsey describing Goins. “He has girth to be able to hold his position close to the basket and score close to the rim as well as take you out on the floor and take you off the bounce and get to the basket that way and that's a tough matchup for your five man.”

Winthrop returns home for its next contest as it will host Brevard College on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. The Eagles will then have 11 days until their next contest with no games schedule during exam week before hitting the road for three straight.