GAME NOTES: The Towson Tigers try to bounce back from their most disappointing effort of 2007-08 when they hit the floor at the Convocation Center in Harrisonburg tonight versus Colonial Athletic Association foe James Madison. On Saturday, the Tigers had a three-game win streak snapped as VCU pummeled the squad in a 65-42 final. The setback pushed Towson to 5-6 in conference play which, at the beginning of the week, had the unit in the middle of the CAA standings. As for the Dukes, who come in at a mere 3-8 in league action, they were pushed aside by George Mason in Fairfax over the weekend in a 72-46 verdict. The loss was the sixth in a row and the eighth in nine outings for JMU. Towson won the first meeting of the season between these teams back on January 26th with a 73-64 triumph at home. As a result, JMU's lead in the all- time series dipped to 19-8 with the Tigers having won three straight over the Dukes.

The Tigers went from shooting just 26.9 percent from the field in the first half to 24.1 percent in the second, en route to a miserable 42-point performance versus VCU over the weekend. Josh Thornton emerged as the lone double-digit scorer for the visitors as he dropped in 13 points, but not only did he shoot just 4-of-12 from the floor, he also turned the ball over five times, the team 19 on the night at the Siegel Center. Having appeared in only 12 of the team's 21 games, Thornton is the second of the active double-digit scorers entering the week with his 11.4 ppg, shooting an impressive 41.7 percent from three-point range along the way. Junior Hairston is responsible for 12.5 ppg and is also leading the group with 10.1 rpg and 42 blocked shots, but with the team shooting just 39.9 percent from the field overall and 31.2 percent out on the perimeter, wins are not always easy to come by for the Tigers.

Just like Towson, the Dukes saw how tough it was to spark their offense on Saturday on the road, coming up with just 46 points in the loss to George Mason. Juwann James, who scored the 1,000th point of his career in the affair, finished with a double-double consisting of 17 points and a team-best 11 rebounds, followed by Abdulai Jalloh with 16 points and five boards as he made only 5-of-16 from the floor. Jalloh seems to have his hands in every facet of the game these days, leading the team with 14.9 ppg, while also coming up with 5.5 rpg, close to three assists per contest and placing second in steals with 33. Terrance Carter and James account for 13.4 and 12.9 ppg, respectively, and have combined to give the squad a strong presence in the post with 13.5 rpg total. James is shooting an impressive 60.9 percent from the field to lift the team to 45.9 percent this season, although his 56.5 percent effort at the free- throw line is certainly a concern.

As long as the Dukes can set the pace in this contest they will be in a position to exact some revenge from the loss to Towson last month, especially with the hometown crowd behind them.