Ebby Asamoah and Jyare Davis each had career-high point totals as Delaware topped James Madison 85-69 in Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball at the Atlantic Bank Union Center in Harrisonburg, Virginia, on Saturday.
Asamoah, whose status was uncertain due to a sprained ankle suffered Thursday at Towson, started and finished with 30 points and seven rebounds. However, Dylan Painter, who also suffered an ankle injury at Towson, was not with the team while receiving treatment in Newark.
BOX SCORE: Delaware 85, JMU 69
Davis, the Sanford School graduate who transferred to Delaware from Providence last spring, stepped in and made his first career start, supplying 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists. He was averaging 4.5 points per game.
“Ebby and Jyare were fabulous,” Delaware coach Martin Ingelsby told Blue Hens Radio. “That’s the Jyare Davis that we’ve seen and I just think his confidence is at an all-time high right now. He just keeps chipping away at it.
“And I can’t say enough about Ebby. He’s a warrior. I knew he was going to play. I didn’t know he’d be able to drop 30 in a game like this.”
Delaware (15-7 overall, 6-3 CAA) was playing its last conference game at JMU because of the Dukes’ impending move to the Sun Belt Conference after this school year.
James Madison (12-7, 3-5), which won nonconference games over Virginia, Old Dominion and George Mason, is ineligible for the conference tournament because of its imminent departure. Games against the Dukes still count in the league standings.
HENS, TIGERS FLOORED: Game at Towson stopped to due to unsafe conditions
Next for Delaware is the first of four straight home games Thursday against Drexel (9-9, 4-4) at 6 p.m. airing nationally on the CBS Sports Network.
Drexel lost 66-62 Saturday at Towson, where the issues with the basketball court have been apparently resolved. Delaware led at Towson 38-29 with 18:42 left Thursday when officials stopped the game due to unsafe court conditions after numerous players had slipped and fallen. It will be resumed at a date to be announced.
JMU visits Delaware for a Feb. 14 rematch. Seven of Delaware’s remaining nine full games are at the Carpenter Center. Delaware has won three straight and eight of the last nine over JMU.
CAA EXPANDS: Stony Brook, Monmouth, Hampton join conference
Jameer Nelson Jr. had 14 points and Andrew Carr contributed a team high eight rebounds and dealt six assists for Delaware.
The Hens shot 49.2 percent from the field (29-for-59) and were 11-for-28 beyond the arc with 21 assists and just nine turnovers. JMU was undermined by 16-for-28 free-throw aim.
CAA STANDINGS: UNCW leads the pack
Delaware never trailed and led by as many as 10 en route to a 43-34 halftime lead. Delaware limited JMU to 35.7-percent first-half shooting and the Dukes also missed seven foul shots.
The Blue Hens’ lead grew to 57-41 with 15:14 left before JMU began chipping away while regaining its shooting touch. The Dukes got within 62-56 with 9:23 left and the Hens only led 71-64 after Charles Falden’s 3-pointer with 5:54 to go.
But a subsequent 10-0 UD run featured Asamoah’s 3-pointer and Davis’ dunk as the Hens pulled away.
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