James Madison defeats Drexel

Drexel appeared to be on its way to an easy win Wednesday night at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. It just didn't turn out that way.

The Dragons had their way during the first 10 minutes of the game. But the rest of the Colonial Athletic Association contest belonged to James Madison, which prevailed, 68-54.

Drexel had its three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 16-8 overall and 8-6 in the CAA. James Madison broke a two-game losing streak and is 18-8 and 8-6.

The Dukes are coached by Matt Brady, a native of Haddon Heights who was an assistant at St. Joseph's under Phil Martelli for 11 years.

Brady's James Madison squad featured 6-foot-10 senior Denzel Bowles, a 260-pound NBA prospect who entered the game averaging 18.0 points and 9.1 rebounds. A midyear transfer last year from Texas A&M, the physical Bowles bumped and banged his way to 21 points and 13 rebounds.

Forward Samme Givens led Drexel with 22 points and 11 boards as the Dragons went 20 for 57 from the field to the Dukes' 24 for 53. The Dukes outrebounded the Dragons 39-37.

Drexel, which led by as many as 16 points during the first 20 minutes, was up by just three at the break. And when Dukes guard Humpty Hitchens, who had 11 first-half points, nailed a three with 18 minutes remaining, the game was tied at 36.

James Madison led, 47-42, with under 13 minutes remaining, and the Dukes went up 65-52 with 1 minute, 31 seconds to go.

Drexel still has CAA outings at home against William and Mary and Virginia Commonwealth and road games at North Carolina-Wilmington and Towson. The Dragons are also set to host an ESPN BracketBusters contest on Feb. 18 against Kent State of the Mid-American Conference.

When Drexel and James Madison met on the Dukes' home court in Harrisonburg, Va., on Jan. 26, Drexel came away with a 60-52 loss after trailing by a point at halftime.

James Madison, which had come up short against the Dragons in Philadelphia seven times in as many visits, fell behind, 11-0.

The Dukes scored only six points in the first 10-plus minutes. Meanwhile, Drexel was putting on a clinic with its execution offensively. When Bowles went to the free-throw line for his first point of the game with 9:35 left before the break, James Madison was trailing, 21-7.

But with Bowles finally coming alive to score eight points heading into halftime, so did his teammates. The Dukes were only behind by 32-29 at intermission, and Givens had 15 points by then.