GAME NOTES: A couple of teams set to kick off the Colonial Athletic Association portion of their schedules meet at Matthews Arena today, as the James Madison Dukes take on the Northeastern Huskies. The Dukes are off to a surprisingly fast start this season, as they have posted wins in four of their first five outings. The team was last in play on Wednesday, when it notched an 82-71 triumph at Eastern Kentucky. It was the second win in a row for JMU, which improved to 2-1 on the road. The Dukes now turn their focus to CAA play, where they finished just 4-14 a year ago. As for Northeastern, it opened its season with a brutal five-game road swing that saw the team finish with just a 2-3 record. The team concluded that road trip on a down note, dropping a 92-72 decision at Rhode Island on Wednesday. The Huskies are now set to begin CAA play, where they went an even 9-9 last season. Northeastern swept a pair of meetings with JMU last season to extend its lead in the all-time series to 6-1.

The Dukes have been effective as well as efficient at the offensive end of the court this season, averaging 84.4 ppg behind 55.3 percent shooting from the floor and 40.8 percent from long distance. Terrance Carter heads the squad in both scoring (17.8 ppg) and rebounding (8.2 rpg), and he is even making good on 69.8 percent of his field goal tries. Abdulai Jalloh adds 15.6 ppg and a team-best 3.4 apg to the rotation, while Juwann James contributes 12.2 ppg and 5.0 rpg. In the team's last game, JMU's trio of double-figures scorers each recorded a double-double in an 11-point win over Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday. Carter led the way with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Jalloh and James each turned 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Dukes shot 50.0 percent from the floor in the game and they also dominated the boards, 42-22.

Three-point shooting proved to be the difference in Wednesday night's loss for the Huskies, as they made just 4-of-16 attempts from long range compared to a 12-of-24 effort by Rhode Island. Northeastern didn't help its cause with sub par shooting at the foul line either, as it converted only 12-of-20 free throws. Matt Janning though, had a big game, as he poured in a career-high 34 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the floor to pace the Huskies. Manny Adako added 12 points and eight rebounds, while Chaisson Allen chipped in with 10 points. For the season, Janning leads in scoring with 17.4 ppg and he is also collecting 4.8 rpg. Adako is next in order with 12.0 ppg and 4.6 rpg, and Chaisson rounds out the double-figure scorers with 11.6 ppg. As a team, the Huskies are scoring 66.8 ppg despite shooting only 38.9 percent from the floor thus far.

This is the first home game of the season for the Huskies, so they should come out with a lot of energy and that will help them slip past JMU today.