Dec. 30, 2006

Box Score

ORLANDO, FL - The outcome remained in doubt 2.1 seconds from the finish, but James Madison finally secured a 70-66 win on a pair of free throws, fighting back a challenge from New Jersey Institute of Technology in the third-place game of the UCF Holiday Classic men's basketball tournament Saturday evening.

Trailing by 10 points at halftime, the Highlanders still trailed by eight with just 4:11 left.

They never did pull even or take the lead in the second half. Still, the Highlanders pulled to within a point with 14 seconds left and, down two, got off a quality three-point shot after a timeout with six seconds left in a bid for the win.

James Madison, a program with six NCAA Division I postseason tournament appearances in its history, was led on Saturday by junior Terrance Carter's game-high scoring (23 points) and rebound (10) totals.

The Dukes had three other double-figure scorers, as Juwann James and Joe Posey each scored 14 and Pierre Curtis finished with 13 points. Curtis, the freshman point guard, also had 11 assists.

NJIT's leader was Kraig Peters, who scored 10 points in each half for a personal season-best 20 points. Clayton Barker added 12 points and a team-leading 5 assists. The Highlander rebounding lead was shared by Dan Stonkus and Nesho Milosevic, who grabbed nine apiece.

Peters was named to the all-tournament team, which was headed by Most Valuable Player Mike O'Donnell. He led host Central Florida to the Classic title with an 88-62 win over Texas-Pan American in the championship game, which followed the NJIT-James Madison game.

Saturday's all-tournament honor was the second of the year for Peters, who was also named at the Tyler Ugolyn Columbia Classic in November.

The Highlanders were victimized by a prolonged scoring drought in the first half, going from a 16-16 tie after Peters' driving layup with 11:35 left in the half to a 29-16 deficit when Marc Milbourne Swan finally got them back in the scoring column on a pair of free throws with 4:43 left, breaking a 6:52 scoreless stretch.

A day earlier, NJIT had trailed by 15 at halftime and outscored a strong Central Florida team in the second half for a respectable 75-63 final score. On Saturday, the Highlanders trailed James Madison at halftime, 37-27. This time they fought almost all the way back and nearly pulled out a win against difficult odds.

Stonkus scored the first four points of the second half, closing the score to 37-31 with 18:28 left, but he picked up his third foul less than a minute later, forcing him to the bench. Gone, temporarily, at least, was the chance for NJIT to see if it could continue to exploit JMU's defense under the basket.

Another setback came with 16:24 left, when senior captain Marc Milbourne Swan was whistled for a foul and then quickly for his fifth and disqualifying foul with most of the second half still to play.

After another whistle with the clock stopped, the Dukes added four points on the ensuing six free throws, pushing the James Madison lead back up to 11 points.

However, despite losing their most experienced post player and having Stonkus in foul trouble, the Highlanders responded with seven straight points, capped by Barker's three-pointer that made it 50-46 with 12:50 left.

Already in the foul-shooting bonus situation, James Madison hit four straight free throws and then a trey from Posey to go back up by 11, 57-46, with 10:12 left.

Combining good shooting on the offensive end with a defense would hold James Madison to 33 percent shooting from the field (8-24) in the second half, the Highlanders stayed in the game.

Then they surged, closing to within a point on Andrew Engel's three-pointer with 2:53 left and another with 1:36 left, making the score 65-64, JMU.

Curtis then made a layup with 41 seconds left to give James Madison a three-point lead, before the Highlanders' Peters was fouled on a three-point attempt with 14 seconds left.

Peters made the first two foul shots, but his third rolled off the rim and Posey came down with the ball and was fouled.

NJIT's pleas for a walking call on Posey, who appeared to stumble before he was fouled, did not sway the officials. Posey missed the first foul shot and made the second, giving his team a two-point lead with 13 seconds left.

NJIT advanced to the frontcourt, before Casciano used his last timeout to set up a play with about six seconds remaining. Barker, who has notched more than his share of late game-winning baskets, including one in this year's season-opening one-point win over Manhattan, curled around a baseline screen and got open for a three-point try from the right corner.

The shot, which had a chance, barely missed and came off the rim. Posey again got the rebound, was fouled and finally sealed the win for the Dukes by making both foul shots with 2.1 seconds left.

Despite the loss, NJIT's effort was reflected in the fact that in the hard-fought second half, it outscored James Madison in the paint, 24-10, and by an impressive 15-5 on second-chance points.

The Highlanders will resume play on Tuesday, opening the 2007 portion of the schedule with a 7 pm game in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center against Navy.