HARRISONBURG, Va. – With just over three minutes left in the game, Winston Grays stole the ball, took it coast-to-coast and drove through a clogged lane to sink a no-look, spinning layup off the glass. The shot was emblematic of a career night from the James Madison guard, who scored a team-high 20 points to lift the Dukes over Longwood, 82-60, Wednesday night at the JMU Convocation Center.
 
It was a breakout performance for the 6-2 junior from Cleveland, Ohio, but one that Longwood's second-year head coach Jayson Gee could have predicted years ago.
 
"I know Winston and I know his abilities because I recruited him when I was at Cleveland State," reflected Gee, who helped Cleveland State to a 136-100 record and an NCAA Tournament berth from 2006-13. "He has improved more from high school to right now in his career than I have ever seen a player improve in my 26 years of coaching."
 
Unfortunately for Longwood (1-1), Grays peaked Wednesday night to hand the Lancers their first loss of the year. Grays, who began his career at Cincinnati State in 2012-13, hit 8-of-15 shots from the floor and scored 10 points over the final 15 minutes to put away a game that was a back-and-forth five-point affair minutes into the second half.
 
Grays was one of four Dukes scoring in double figures, leading a group that included Jackson Kent with 18 points, Yohanny Dalembert with 14 and Tom Vodanovich with 11. Jackson was hot from start to finish, hitting 4-of-5 shots from three-point range while dishing out four assists in 38 minutes of action. James Madison shot 8-of-13 from beyond the arc and missed just one of five treys in the second half.
 
Sophomore Darrion Allen matched Grays point-for-point the entire game and led Longwood with a career-high 20 points. But despite the career night, It wasn't his individual stat line that Allen focused on after the game.
 
"I know I had a good game, but I'd rather score three points and win than 20 points and lose," he said.
 
Allen was the lone Lancer who consistently managed to break a James Madison zone defense that forced Longwood into 19 turnovers and held the Lancers to a .214 (6-of-28) performance from three-point range. The alignment put the brakes on a red-hot Lancer offense that had won its previous two games, including an exhibition against Hampden-Sydney, by an average margin of 30.5 points per game while shooting over 50.0 percent from three-point range.
 
"We had trouble with [James Madison's] zone, and I didn't expect that," Gee said. "It's a tough zone to simulate in practice because of the length James Madison has. You've got 6-8, 6-8, 6-8 on the court, and we struggled to break through that consistently."
 
The long, rangy defenders James Madison employed threw the Lancers off rhythm. Without starting point guard Quincy Taylor, who the NCAA ruled ineligible for the first three games of the year due to participation to an unsanctioned recreational basketball league, the Lancers struggled to adjust.
 
"A lot of our turnovers came on mental mistakes," said Allen, who played a team-high 33 minutes, including several at point guard. "I think we maybe rushed a little too much. There were times when we should have driven, come to a jump stop and pivoted, but we went up on one foot instead. I just think we rushed a lot of things."
 
"I think the best offense we had was trying to get in the hole, penetrate and then kick it to the big man," said Allen, referring to redshirt junior center Lotanna Nwogbo who had 12 points and seven rebounds. "Overall it was a tough game, but it's just a learning experience for us."
 
Longwood will continue that learning experience this weekend during the three-game EMU Showcase hosted by Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti, Mich. The Lancers open the tournament against UNC Greensboro on Nov. 22 and follow with matchups against Youngstown State on Nov. 23 and Eastern Michigan on Nov. 24.

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