Catching Up With Brady

By Stephen Proffitt | The Breeze


JMU may not have upset Indiana, but Tuesday, they were able to close out the 2012-2013 campaign with a “significant” win with another on the horizon. Redshirt senior Andrey Semenov will return for a sixth season after receiving clearance from the NCAA.

Head coach Matt Brady hopes that Semenov can remain healthy and take advantage of his additional year.

“I think it’s significant,” coach Matt Brady said Wednesday afternoon. “The challenge with Andrey is to find a way to keep him healthy.”

Semenov only played in seven games this season for JMU. The Dukes were 5-2 in those games. He missed much of the early part of the season, battling a groin injury, but was able to rejoin the team in December.

As the calendar turned, so did Semenov’s ankle as he injured it against Old Dominion on January 2 — he missed the rest of the season.

“We’re still not there yet, he’s still under the care of the doctor’s with respect to his ankle,” Brady said. “If we can keep him healthy for a year, he’s obviously talented guy with a great skill at putting the ball in the basket.”

Semenov will be the only senior starter on the team next season. It’s a big victory for a lineup that will feature four sophomores.

“I would be eager to watch him take a leadership role with next year’s team,” Brady said. “He’s been in a lot of games.”

Semenov’s scoring ability, especially from the perimeter, along with his experience will be welcomed with open arms. In his seven games this season, Semenov averaged 10 points per game while shooting 46 percent from deep.

“I think he takes the scoring pressure off a very young nucleus of guys,” Brady said. “Not that Andrey Semenov’s got to be a double-digit scorer consistently, because I think we have a talented roster of guys that can all score, having a guy that can clearly put the ball in the basket is helpful.”

Semenov’s clearance is probably not the only paperwork that the JMU basketball office will be completing in the coming weeks. Brady, who was just recognized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches as the Co-Coach of the Year for District 10, will likely be signing a new, multi-year contract in the coming weeks. His five-year contract expires on April 24.

“We still have a ways to go,” Brady said. “We still have some more conversations to have.”

He’s in a good spot to lobby for a new deal after recently completing his third 20-plus win season in five years. This coupled with three postseason appearances makes Brady a hot commodity. The negotiations are moving along at a steady pace though according to Brady.

As schools continue to leave their conferences, Brady is trying to prevent the complete loss of a great rivalry with George Mason, who recently announced their departure from the Colonial Athletic Association.


“First thing’s first, we are in contact with them to keep the rivalry in tact by having the game every year,” Brady said.

The game, if scheduled, would likely happen in the early, non-conference months of the season: November or December.

“It’s unfortunate that college athletics is changing so rapidly, but it’s a fact of life,” Brady said. “Change is inevitable at the college affiliation level.”

JMU has recently been tossed around in conversations involving the Sun Belt and Mid-American conferences over the past few weeks, but a jump would not be wise, at least right now, according to Brady.

“There’s going to be fallout in league’s around us,” Brady said. “And there’s going to be opportunities. It’s kind of like investing, you think that the stock market’s dropping, you got to get out.”

With Mason out and the College of Charleston in, the CAA basketball roster will include nine schools heading into next season.

“I think it’s paramount that the CAA figures out a way to keep our league as strong as it ever was under the leadership of [commissioner] Tom Yeager,” Brady said. “I think they are hard at work keeping our league not just in tact, but growing.”

JMU has been a part of the CAA since 1979. As Brady will seemingly enter his sixth year in Harrisonburg, he remains confident on where the school stands.

“There’s great potential in the CAA,” he claimed. “I think it’s too early to turn our back on this league.”

Contact Stephen Proffitt at proffijs@dukes.jmu.edu.

Baseball Drops Three Touchdowns

By Stephen Proffitt | The Breeze


JMU seemed to taking batting practice during the middle of a game Wednesday afternoon as the Dukes obliterated the Liberty Flames, 21-4.

“We’re not as good as that score and they’re not as bad as that score,” said head coach Spanky McFarland. “It’s just one of those things. It kind of got ugly.”

The bats started early and no one could save Liberty pitchers. It was an ideal baseball game for JMU as both bats and arms were on point.

Freshman Michael Church got the nod to start on Wednesday for JMU. It was his fourth start and eighth appearance on the year. Church went three and two-thirds innings, giving up no runs on three hits.

Due to NCAA rules, if a team declares that a game will be a staff day (using a lot of players throughout a game), a starting pitcher may earn the victory without throwing the traditional standard of five innings. Under these rules, Church was credited with the win, his third. A quartet of bullpen relief prevented much of any Liberty damage.

“I hadn’t pitched in a week and I brought my ‘A’ game, basically,” Church said. “My curveball was looking good, and it worked out for me.”

Sophomore Chad Carroll, who has found his new home in left field, has been on his own self-promoted hit parade this season. Against Liberty, Carroll started off with a homer and then followed that up with a base on balls, single and a triple. He finished a double shy of the coveted cycle.

“[I was] just seeing it pretty well. I felt good,” Carroll said. “Just consistent work in the cage and at practice has really paid off.”

Carroll finished the day three for five, with five RBIs and five runs scored. Both are also career highs.

The former JMU shortstop is batting a team high .431 after Wednesday and leads the nation with six triples.

“I feel comfortable out there,” he said. “Whatever helps the team do well, I’m all for it.”

A plethora of JMU batting categories rank nationally in the weekly NCAA statistics release. As of Monday, batting average (.323), scoring (8.4/game), runs (205), triples (17), slugging percentage (.470) and on-base percentage (.412) all rank in the top 11 in the nation.

Fourteen batters stepped to the plate for JMU Wednesday, and 12 reached base in some manor. The Dukes’ offensive explosion was out of control. JMU compiled its 21 runs on 19 hits. Both numbers were season-highs for the Dukes.

“Rather than ease up, we just get other kids to play so they can still play hard,” McFarland said of the large lead.

Liberty sent a total of 11 pitchers to the mound on Wednesday. Prior to Liberty, JMU hadn’t faced more than six pitchers.

“With young pitchers, you never know what you’re going to get,” McFarland said. “All mid-week games are adjustment days.”

Three hitting streaks were extended Wednesday. Carroll and seniors Johnny Bladel and Cole McInturff added to their double-digit totals — 11, 13 and 15 games, respectively.

The Dukes (13-9, 6-2 CAA) are on a roll as of late. JMU will ship up to Boston this weekend for a three-game conference series with Northeastern. The Huskies (12-11, 2-7 CAA) have yet to win a conference series this season.

“It was a good game. It was a fun game,” McFarland said. “A lot of guys got in and got hits, but don’t read too much into it. It’s just a game that got out of hand, but I’d rather it get out of hand for us.”

Contact Stephen Proffitt at proffijs@dukes.jmu.edu.

Knee Slapper

Check it out

Be on the lookout for a column on anger management in basketball tonight

Do the 'Conference Shake'---What GMU move means for JMU Hoops

Tony Skinn's sister?

   Ain't that a bitch. Sorry for the language, mom. George Mason is doing what the devil never did, but what everyone else seems to be doing, leaving. In particular, leaving the CAA (Colonial Athletic Association). The Patriots will join the Atlantic-10 on July 1, 2013, effective for all sports. They are not eligible to participate in post season play this spring.

  So we are left with nine, not the most logistical number. James Madison, Northeastern, Hofstra, Delaware, William & Mary, Towson, Drexel, UNCW, ands soon to be newcomer, College of Charleston (SOCON). In case you need a refresher, Old Dominion (C-USA) and Georgia State (Sun Belt) are also withdrawing from the conference following the completion of this academic year. Before yesterday, it looked as if basketball would be setup quite nicely next season with an even 10 team shootout with all roads leaving to **Baltimore. Now, we're left scratching our heads once again. 'Ain't nobody got time for dat.'

This was most likely taken during a GMU game...just sayin'

 
   The move does affect JMU, especially hoops. Arguably JMU's largest rivalry in many sports, minus baseball (Spanky says UNCW) is on their way out. Matt Brady (who will most likely receive an extension) may be thanking the basketbal gods once as he never could find the right formula to beat Mason. He's 1-10 against GMU in his tenure at JMU. There is another side to this, however.

   Despite the trouble, a Mason-Madison game was always a hype. It brought even the most apathetic people out to the Convo. I would argue it's really the only time when there is a campus buzz about the game, multiple days in advance. Well, there was that game when I'm Schmacked came and suddenly everyone cared about a JMU-Hofstra game? Please don't get me started on those guys. Let's get back on track.

   The usually televised game would always feature in my opinion the CAA's best rivalry between the two, Mason/Madison. Old school VCU/ODU could land on the top too. Barring non-conference match ups (which I hope happen), this legendary CAA rivalry will truly be missed. While Brady has been less than stellar against the Fairfax foes, he can say that he did beat them at least once. It's something Dean Keener can't do. Keener never beat GMU in his four seasons at JMU. It should be noted if you're unfamiliar with those times that Keener only brought 31 total wins to the program during his four seasons. This is compared to the 85 losses he wrote in their history books. Keener was playing the golf style of basketball, fore! So to do the math for you, Mason has beaten JMU in the last 19 of 20 meetings. And despite all of this, JMU still leads the all time series, 46-44.
 
   In what use to be a mecca for the CAA, Virginia has steadily fallen off the map in terms of membership. First it was the University of Richmond who said goodbye in 2001 after a 22 year relationship with the conference that stemmed all the way back to their founding year in 1979. Then last year VCU took their talents to the A-10 after a 17 year stint in the CAA. Without football and basketball team growing faster than Bonds' head on steroids coming from within the Siegel Center, it made all logical sense for the Rams to move on up to the big leagues. Then it was ODU who said deuces. The Monarch's move was definitely made with football in mind. The Patriots and Rams moves are nearly identical.


   Here is the statement from JMU on the move:

JMU President Jonathan Alger and Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne comment on the departure of George Mason University to the Atlantic 10 Conference beginning July 1, 2013

In speaking for the institution and many of our fans, we are extremely disappointed in this decision, as GMU, a founding member of the CAA, represents the key characteristics by which we judge our own conference affiliation.

This news comes at a time when instability and movement within conference membership continues across the country. The immediate strategy by the conference involves the CAA continuing to look at potential new members, a process that began earlier this year with the addition of the College of Charleston.

From our internal athletics perspective, we are actively engaged in a strategic planning process as a component of the University’s Madison Future Commission. In pursuing this plan, we are working with Carr Sports Consulting to assist us in establishing a comprehensive strategic plan that addresses all of our programs and long-term actions. While this process is set to conclude this summer, our planning is fluid and will help position and prepare us for important long-term decisions that are in the best interest of our student-athletes, coaches and the institution.

We look forward to working with our many constituents, both on campus, and around the country, in developing and sharing a strategic plan which positions our institution for long-term success.

Jonathan Alger                                                        Jeff Bourne
President                                                                Director of Athletics

"I swear the CAA will have at least four teams next year"

   
   My immediate reaction to this is they are trying to leave in some manor.

   The Dukes have a few choices to make in terms of this shuffle. I have been saying this for a while, but any movement by the school will be made with football on the front burner. In my opinion, it's sad to say it, but I think it's true. Appalachian State and Georgia Southern joining the Sun Belt do not help this cause either as they are FCS football powerhouses.

   So there have been a few options that I have heard being tossed around. The first is (was) talk of a possible completely new conference in the works that would feature many independent football schools and maybe some other programs that would leave their respected conferences too (Marshall was a name thrown around). Another far fetched one would be a membership in C-USA, like ODU. I think this would be JMU's best move with all sports in mind. However I think if there was any chance, it may be out the door now. Next, there has been mention of the MAC (Mid-Atlantic Conference). I want you to name me five MAC schools without cheating. Most of you can't. Akron is a MAC team and they got worked by VCU in the first round of the NCAA tournament last week. The margin of victory, 46. This isn't me trying to say the MAC sucks, it's me putting a team into perspective for readers.

   While stability nowadays is crucial, so is exposure, and I don't think the MAC offers much especially hoops wise. JMU has sat back and seen teams in the CAA get bypassed (cough cough Drexel 2012) in March because of their mid-major conference. The CAA is a better basketball league than the MAC. Making a move to the MAC would put a blossoming hoops program back under the dust of mid-major life. If you move to the a different conference, you immediately become that team that won the CAA, but is buried somewhere in a new, unfamiliar, and not well respected league. Why do it?

   Finally, there is the move I would suggest. Nothing. Yes, don't do anything. I will not deny that the CAA is down and just got kicked in the groin by GMU while attempting to recover from VCU/ODU/GSU, but there is hope. I'm not getting paid by Tom Yeager to advocate this, but I see a light at the end of this gloomy tunnel. I'm saying that JMU should just stick this one out and have confidence in the CAA to find them new partners. College of Charleston is a good addition. The Cougars finished 24-11 this season, 14-4 in SOCON. They got a College Basketball Invitational (CBI) invite and lost on a last second tip to....yep, George Mason. The SOCON is a conference that produced the likes of stealth sniper, Stephen Curry, who is currently a member of the Golden State Warriors. Curry attended Davidson, who turned down an invitation to join the CAA last year.

   The immediate reaction is to kick the CAA to the curb, but what if JMU had done that last year when VCU/ODU/GSU announced their withdrawals? What if the Dukes had followed suit? There definitely would have been to Student Duke Club buses going to Dayton last week. This is my way of saying JMU would not have been dancing. They were able to use this opening to their advantage. JMU took a seven-team tournament and played it in their favor, like they should have. They finally caught a break after years of adversity. Next year it looks as if the tournament format will be similar, just with two more squads barring anymore APR issues. Get hot at the right moment, 350 or so days from now and JMU may be dancing for the second straight year.

   The whole point of this column is with basketball in mind. You could probably make a different argument for all 18 Division I JMU teams on what to do. I'm confident Yeager will find replacements and make the conference respectable again. When your team is going to be led by underclassmen, why shake things up, especially after success? Andre Nation, Ron Curry, Charles Cooke, Taylor Bessick have all seen these CAA squads once already. No one in the CAA or NCAA in whole loses as many seniors as JMU did. So these young players will see many familiar faces again next season. The Dukes may not be the preseason favorites in the conference, but I could see the team making a big impact next season. It may seem broken now, but don't attempt to fix it yourself, JMU.

   I'd like some input on this one. Yell at me on twitter @jstheproffitt - comment on the post- OR if you want to blatantly curse me out and not have it public, do it on email, proffittjs@gmail.com



 

NCAA journey comes to an end, Dukes reflect

By Stephen Proffitt | The Breeze

JMU’s NCAA tournament run has come to an end, but JMU basketball is looking forward. Friday evening, the Dukes came up short at fending off all of the odds that were stacked against them.

History, Tiger Woods and even President Obama all picked against JMU on Friday evening in a game where Indiana eventually prevailed 83-62.

The Hoosiers used an early blitz from freshman point guard Yogi Ferrell, who had 14 points in the opening minutes, to coast to an easy 43-22 lead by halftime. Indiana led by as much as 33 points before JMU pulled it back closer to a 20-point differential in the waning stages of the game.

Freshmen guards Andre Nation and Charles Cooke, who were primarily responsible for the late-game sharpshooting, both set career-highs with 24 and 18 points, respectively.

Despite the loss, the Dukes were grateful for the opportunity and know this won’t be such a rare occurrence in the future.

“They saw up close and personal, firsthand, what it means to be part of a great team,” said head coach Matt Brady.

For redshirt senior Devon Moore, the experience was all about the significance of the moment.

“I played in an NCAA tournament game,” he said. “A lot of people that play basketball want to be here and they’re not.”

Like other dances, the Dukes wanted to have fun and stay loose.

The Dukes were able to do just that with a five-day Dayton residency last week.

The shenanigans started all the way back in Harrisonburg as Cooke laid down his version of the now-famous “Brady Rap” inside the airport before departing for Dayton.

“We always laugh and joke at what he says so we just wanted to make a song out of it, knowing it’d be a great remix,” Cooke said.

Nation named Cooke as the “team’s biggest goofball” during Thursday’s media session. During the same press conference, Nation wasn’t shy about telling the world that the pepperoni and cheese Hot Pockets were his go-to.

The fun continued throughout the week as Nation channeled his inner Spike Lee, directing and filming “Nation Vision.” These were a series of shorts, shot on the NCAA tournament trip from his perspective using a team-issued iPad.

This archived video footage will serve as great incentive in future seasons as a goal to strive for future NCAA tournament berths. This JMU program will remember Dayton.

“We’ve seen how hard we have to work,” Nation said.

The farewell tour for seniors Moore, A.J. Davis, Rayshawn Goins, Alioune Diouf and Gene Swindle (in addition to fifth-year senior Andrey Semenov, who may receive a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA for medical hardship) played one last encore set inside the University of Dayton Arena against Indiana. The torch has now officially been passed down to a soon-to-be sophomore class whose potential has a particularly high ceiling.

It’s rare at the college level to find a team laden with seniors and freshmen with not much depth in between.

“They’ve set the bar high,” Brady said of the seniors. “This is the bar for our program, and we’ve got to be able to get better every day.”

For freshmen Ron Curry, Taylor Bessick, Cooke and Nation, their time has come to take over this team and make sure future Marches are equally fraught with madness.

“As far as [leadership] goes, next year we just want to come in, and we just want to play our game,” Cooke said. “Of course we want to take a leadership role on the team, but we just want to stay aggressive, want to be smart and make leadership decisions.”

Cooke and Nation scored 32 of JMU’s 40 second-half points against Indiana. The sky is the limit for these two, but they credit a lot of their success to the seniors, who fathered them into the program.

“They took us underneath their wing from day one,” Nation said. “So I love them boys. Those are my brothers, man.”

Whether it was off the court or inside the gym, they made sure this freshman class felt right at home.

“From day one they just taught us so much,” Cooke said. “They just told us a lot of details about the game of basketball that we didn’t know coming into college basketball.”

The mortar has been delivered to the Convocation Center, and it’s seemingly a great time to start constructing a resilient NCAA tournament contender.

“What we did as the six seniors was lay the groundwork for those underclassmen,” Davis said. “I feel good about passing down the torch to them.”

Last time the Miami Heat lost

   Whether you love them or you hate them, the Miami Heat are legit. They are currently on a 27 game winning streak and are six wins shy of tying the NBA record at 33.

Next six games:

@ Chicago Bulls 3/27
@ New Orleans (Pelicans?) 3/29
@ San Antonio Spurs 3/31
Vs Knicks 4/2
 @ Charlotte 4/5
 Vs Philadelphia 4/6

   Over the course of 52 days dating back to February 1, the Heat have torn through 20 of the 30 NBA teams. They've beaten Toronto, Charlotte, Atlanta, Cleveland, and Orlando twice and Philadelphia has been engulfed three times. By my count New Orleans and San Antonio would be two new victims to the list and Washington (4/10) could be the 23rd different team they've taken down during the streak.

   By my novice, but semi-seasoned NBA knowledge, San Antonio could cause possible trouble for the sizzling South Beach'ers. Miami won the only meeting between the two in South Beach back in November, 105-100.

   So how does this relate to JMU? Well back on February 1, when the Heat lost at Indiana, JMU was quite a different squad.

   The Dukes were 13-10 and on the verge of coming up short, yet again to George Mason in Harrisonburg the following day. Barely floating above .500 the Dukes would've been considered a semi-joke to win the CAA tournament and punch their ticket to the dance. They were second in the CAA standings at 7-3, but hadn't flipped the schedule page to see their upcoming opponents and road tests. Coach Brady was still trying the sell his team on this winning philosophy. They still hadn't "bought in," as Brady put it.

   JMU would proceed to have disappointing outings in Philadelphia against Drexel (only scored 48 points, in a horrible shooting performance) and on senior day against Georgia State. Andre Nation made Sportscenter with his buzzer beater dunk at Delaware. They came up less than a second short at Northeastern and were able to escape their largest deficit at William & Mary when it counted most. Just a week later, they came back and beat the exact same Tribe squad. The next day, an out of bounds call given by the basketball gods gave Devon Moore the most fitting way to send the team to the championship game. Finally, the Dukes made Bill Coen forget any regular season success as they made the Huskies look plain silly inside the dated Richmond Coliseum. A four game winning streak to end the season blasted JMU through RVA and onto Dayton.

   A.J. Davis decided he "would do anything to help his team win," coach Matt Brady said. Since Feb. 1, Davis scored in double figures 10 times (out of a possible 12). Even better, seven of the ten were 20 plus, including a career high of 36 against William & Mary. Davis solely pulled JMU out of a 16 point deficit in Williamsburg and contributed to them winning the game, which gave them the third seed in Richmond. With the third seed, the Dukes were able to craftily work their way through the tournament and come out on top. I'm not here to play the string game, but Davis' 36 had a far greater meaning than just a career high for the Columbus native.

   In the final 10 games of the season, including CAA tourney, excluding NCAA's, Davis netted 205 points (20.5/game). Davis had scored a total of 195 points in the first 23 games of the season leading up to the beginning of his eruption. That's good enough for just over a mere eight points per contest.

     I know Rayshawn Goins has been following this streak closely as he is a big LeBron James advocate. You may spot him rocking a Buffalo Sabers beanie on the reg, but don't let that fool you. Goins is huge James fan, and has followed from his days in his hometown of Cleveland all the way down to South Beach. You could say Ray 'took his viewing talents' down to Miami.

   Another connection between the two; both teams have 'Big Three's.' As I've written before, James, Bosh, Wade are to the Heat as Moore, Davis, Goins are to the Dukes. Don't believe me, just watch the stat book. (Failed attempt at Trinidad James reference).

   Both trio's lead their teams in scoring, and their presence's are heavily felt. I would argue that Moore/Davis/Goins earn a little more Sportscenter air time. The amount of media coverage the Heat get is equivalent to the amount of white trash in your local Wal-Mart.

   While justifiable at times (the Heat, not people of Wal-Mart), the winning streak is becoming a tad trite. However, nothing of this nature has happend for 40 years. It was the 1971-72 season when the Lakers pulled off this feat. Talk about short-shorts!

   All of this ties back to February 1, when the Miami Heat lost their last game, and when a mention of JMU in the second round of the NCAA tournament would've forced Jerry Seinfeld take note of this comedic value.

   Basketball is an up and down sport. Streaks happen and players get hot. JMU got hot at the right moment and wrote a long overdue chapter for the program. The Heat got hot and have become the best team in the NBA. The Dukes came up short of breaking the historical standard of a 16/1 matchup. Can the Miami Heat break the historical 33 game winning streak the Lakers set back in the 70s? Wilt Chamberlin and Jerry West hope not. You know who else was on that historical Lakers squad? Pat Riley, who is the current team president of the Miami Heat. The Kentucky Wildcat also coached in South Beach from 1995-2003 and again from 05-08. That Lakers squad went onto win the NBA Finals 4-1 over the Knicks.

   I know Goins will be pulling for James to do the unthinkable and we can also bet that Andre Nation will probably be enjoying kicking it on the couch enjoying a pepperoni and cheese Hot Pocket. They come in packs of two, hopefully he cares to share with Goins!

Brahhhhhhhh!

   Ironically, both JMU's and Miami's last loss, you ask? Against Indiana. Far out, brah!

Stats to know about Heat Streak

Game story

By Stephen Proffitt | The Breeze

“Nothing casual! Nothing casual!” echoed from the Indiana locker room as the last words the Hoosiers would hear before they took the court to face 16-seeded JMU in Dayton Arena.

Indiana listened carefully as it smashed JMU’s glass slipper with an 83-62 victory Friday evening, eliminating the Dukes from the NCAA tournament. The Cinderella story came to a logical end, as JMU was not able to overcome a historically impossible matchup in the Round of 64.

“It will be a learning experience, especially for my younger guys,” said head coach Matt Brady. “Hats off to Indiana. I thought they played a dynamite first half, and it really took us a first half to catch up to the speed with which they play the game.”

The Dukes wanted to face a No. 1 seed, not a hungover Hoosier team.

“We want them at their best. Like I said yesterday, to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best,” freshman guard Andre Nation said in Thursday’s press conference. Nation got his wish; the Hoosiers shot over 52 percent from the field Friday evening.

“They played like I wanted them to,” Nation said outside of the JMU locker room. “They threw punches and we didn’t throw any back.”

Indiana’s offensive mastery was headed by freshman point guard Yogi Ferrell, who began the game on a 9-0 run all by himself. Ferrell shot through the lane like a sports car dashing in and out of highway traffic. After a quick start, he finished with 16 points to lead all IU scorers.

“Just that poise as a freshman,” redshirt senior Devon Moore said of Ferrell. “That’s crazy. Hat’s off to him.”

Shot after shot after shot rustled through the fresh white NCAA nets. The Hoosiers were proving why they were a top seed. The Dukes were caught off guard by the intensity and pace of the game, as they never were able to match it. JMU went into halftime down 43-22 on 9-21 shooting, finishing 3-11 from behind the arc at the break. A team that lives by the deep ball ultimately died by it in the first half.

JMU fans had seen comebacks before. The largest halftime deficit this year’s team was able to overcome was 16 against William & Mary on the final night of the regular season, but Marcus Thornton is not Victor Oladipo or Will Sheehey.

Indiana never let up in the second half, but JMU did manage the pace more effectively at times. All things considered, the Dukes successfully pulled their own weight on the floor.

Going into the game, JMU knew size would be an issue. Indiana big man Cody Zeller is a full seven feet tall and posed problems for the JMU frontcourt. The Dukes held him in check though, and he only logged 11 points, seven shy of his season average playing in the Big Ten. Indiana still won the battle for points in the paint 36-20 over JMU.

The only major statistical difference besides the final score were free throws attempted. IU shot 16-21 from the stripe while the Dukes only went to the line twice, making two of their four shots.

The vast amount positives outweigh any negatives in this game. Freshmen Andre Nation and Charles Cooke scored 32 of JMU’s 40-second half points -- an astonishing statistic when their experience is factored into the equation. It was their moment to shine and officially receive the torch from the seniors. Ironically, those two were the only two Dukes in double figures on Friday despite the fact that neither of them averaged in double figures all season. Cooke finished with 18, while Nation led all scorers with 24. Both were career-highs from future standouts.

“We just wanted to stay aggressive,” Cooke said. “We just took the best shots available that we had. We just wanted to play basketball and stay aggressive, want to be smart, and make leadership decisions.”

Friday’s loss did in fact mark the ending JMU basketball era as six seniors, including the ‘Big Three’ of Moore, A.J. Davis, and Rayshawn Goins, ended their careers. For the three Ohio natives, an ending in Dayton is fitting, knowing they’re just hours from their hometowns.

“I never thought in my life that I’d be playing in a second round game,” Moore said. “This whole trip, it’s just been amazing.”

The finale of their careers signals the changing of the guard. Brady’s strong class last year, along with the upcoming class from this offseason, will become the face of the program for years to come.

“What we did as the six seniors was lay the groundwork for those underclassmen,” Davis said. “I feel good about passing down the torch to them.”

JMU fans that showed up again in Dayton weren’t shy about recognizing their seniors for the years of hard work and good times. Down two-dozen points or more, the band and fans sent out, “Here we go Madison” or repeated “JMU” chants that rippled through an Indiana-red Dayton Arena. JMU Nation was heard loud and clear.

“We’ve seen how hard we have to work,” Nation said. “And we got a whiff of how hard they [one seeds, big programs] work.”

Brady slowly began withdrawing his seniors from the game and finished with all underclassmen on the floor, a true sign of the future.

“It’s a bittersweet moment,” Davis said. “The last few minutes were very up and down knowing it was my last minutes as a college player.”

Moore checked out with 1:40 left in the game. He didn’t join his teammates on the bench. The Columbus born Moore sat on the floor at the end of the bench and just absorbed the last waning moments to a tremendous career.

“This whole season, words can’t describe,” he said. “It’s been amazing. I know I had it rough as far as what was going on with my mom, but I’ve got a great staff behind me that helped me through everything and great young players that helped me.”

Moore didn’t play his best game, but finished with four assists, eclipsing 500 for his final career numbers.

“I played in an NCAA tournament game,” he said. “A lot of people that play basketball want to be here and they’re not.”

After a 30-point loss to begin the season and a 1-5 overall record in the beginning, expectations were kept to a minimum.

“No one expected us to be here,” Goins said. “We made history. It doesn’t matter how you start, it’s how you finish.”

Brady is hopeful that this groundwork the ‘Big Three’ laid is solidified for a bright future.

“They’ve set bar high,” Brady said of the seniors. “This is the bar for our program and we’ve got to be able to get better everyday so this becomes a goal for our program.”

Brady applauded their effort and commended them on great careers.

“This is the class that got it done,” he said. “The senior class bought in and we want to aspire to this every year.”

Brady will build on this experience knowing it made the program exponentially better.

“We’ll take some things from this and try to use it to make our program better,” he said. “In defeat that’s what you’re trying to do, you’re trying to learn.”