JMU misses from deep...again.

   The Dukes were thankful for the final buzzer tonight in a 68-53 loss to the University of Richmond.

   JMU went 0-16 from behind the arc as UR trapped the Dukes in a web of poor shooting. Nothing would go down.

   "We got to start making those [shots]," Ron Curry said. Curry finished with 16 points on the night. It's the second straight game that he has logged 15 or more points. 

  The Spiders came rolling out of the gate with an 11-2 run that had JMU wondering what could be next .

   They quickly found out that the size of the cup from deep was similar to that of a bottle. Shot after shot, clank after clank the Dukes could not sink a trey. JMU shooters were indeed "Caught in the Web."

   "We've talked about driving the ball more," coach Matt Brady said. "This game is almost an aberration. It's not a great example of where we are." 

   The team entered play ranked 343 in the nation in three-point percentage. Tonight only made it worse. After the abysmal shooting night, the Dukes are shooting 21.5 percent from downtown on the season. 

   January 26, 2011 against Drexel was the last game in which JMU failed to make a three-point shot. The Dukes won that day 60-52. It surely was not the case tonight.

   They were sluggish on offense and defense at times. It seemed as if they were still recovering from Thanksgiving, or maybe even Black Friday shopping. Maybe they were starstruck by the scenery inside the newly renovated Robins Center (which is quite nice). Maybe they were blinded by the glare of four replay screens at each corner of the building.

   Charles Cooke mentioned after the game that the backdrop on the road can be challenging at times for a shooter. It's easy to get used to home court, but when you spend your entire non-conference schedule in someone else's gym, something's got to give.

   Early turnovers led to Spider points. UR blocked seven JMU shots on the night. One included 275-pound Spider Derrick Williams chasing down a fast break, slapping an easy JMU layup off the glass. 

   The Dukes went 17-55 (30.9 percent) from the field on the night. Statistically, it was the team's worst shooting night of the season thus far. 

      Redshirt senior Andrey Semenov did not play for the third straight game. He is sidelined with ankle inflammation and Brady is uncertain when he will return. 

   "These aren't the best circumstances for my team," Brady said, alluding to the absence of Andrey and Andre. "Even if those guys are with us, it's a difficult scenario."

   Cooke and Curry combined for 36 of the team's 53 points on the night. Production is at an all time demand, however the supply is extremely low.

   "We need to have production from a lot of guys," Brady said. "If you look at the stat sheet, we didn't get a lot of production." 

   It's hard to find silver linings in games like these as JMU now has dropped each of their last four games. 

   "We're learning something different from each loss," Cooke said. He mentioned the team needs to get tougher and play smarter in order to win games. A college basketball victory comes at a premium, especially when the team's two best players are not playing. 

   "We're going to start from square one and continue to get better," Cooke said. "That's all we can do."

   With such an uneventful game, it was hard to note that the sophomore guard finished with 20 points, a career high. 

   The team will watch the film, hit the Convo court for practice in preparation for the Lumberjack Classic next weekend. The Dukes will face Sam Houston State Friday night and Stephen F. Austin (host school) Saturday night. JMU (2-6) does not play their next home game until December 30 against Ball State.

   They've been on the road almost all season and will continue their tour through the month of December. 

   "It's tough," Curry said of being on the road. "Even though we're traveling a lot, we don't think about it. It's another opportunity to play basketball."