Williamsburg - The William and Mary men's basketball team dropped an offensive slugfest to James Madison, 84-79, on Saturday night at Kaplan Arena. The Tribe placed six guys in doubles figures for the first time in 18 years and shot 51 percent from the floor, but the Dukes erased a seven-point W&M lead with 3:38 remaining and scored 14 of the game's final 16 points to pull out the narrow win. The Tribe fell to 4-11 overall and 0-4 in CAA play, while the Duke won for the seven straight time in improving to 13-3 on the season and 3-1 in conference action.

Senior forward Marcus Kitts led the charge for the Tribe with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor to go along with a team-best five rebounds and a career-high five blocked shots. It marked the most blocked shots for a Tribe player since David Cully blocked 10 against George Mason in 1996. Junior JohnMark Ludwick, making his third straight start, scored 15 points and hit four 3-pointers on the evening, while adding a team-best four assists. Fellow classmate Quinn McDowell finished with 13 points and equaled Ludwick with four assists.

Leading 46-42 at the half, W&M opened up its largest lead of the game, scoring eight of the first 10 points in the second half. Freshman Brandon Britt started the half, going coast-to-coast for a lay-up, before fellow rookie Julian Boatner found Kitts for a two-handed jam. After a JMU bucket, Boatner hit a beautiful floater in the lane, before Britt went coast-to-coast for the second time in the half forcing a Dukes' timeout just over three minutes into the second frame.

Out of the timeout, JMU's Denzel Bowles scored on back-to-back possessions, including a steal and fastbreak dunk. A Humpty Hitchens' 3-pointer at the 15:35 mark capped a Dukes' 7-0 run to close the gap to 54-51.

W&M's lead jumped to seven points at the 10:44 mark following another Britt lay-up, but the Dukes again had an answer. Back-to-back JMU 3-pointers from Julius Wells and Ben Louis pulled the Dukes within one at 65-64 with 9:09 remaining.

The Tribe cushion remained one before a 6-1 spurt pushed the lead back to seven with 4:06 remaining. The Green and Gold hit 5-of-6 from the free throw line, including the final two from sophomore Matt Rum, wrapped around a Kitts' lay-up to give W&M a 75-68 advantage.

The Tribe led 77-70 with 3:38 remaining, before the Dukes put together its final push. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Andrey Semenov and Hitchens pulled James Madison even at 78 with 2:47 remaining. After Britt hit 1-of-2 from the free throw line, Devon Moore tied the game against at 79, hitting the first of his two free throws. His second freebie was no good, but Bowles pulled down the offensive rebound and his putback at the 1:28 mark gave JMU its first lead since early in the first half at 81-79.

Britt had a look at three on the ensuing Tribe possession, but it was off the mark and Bowles came away with the rebound. The Dukes worked the clock under 20 seconds, and Moore drove to the right side of the lane, hitting a jumper fading away out of bounds to put JMU on top 83-79 with 18 seconds remaining. McDowell missed a 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining, and Bowles again came away with the rebound, before hitting 1-of-2 from the free throw line for the final margin.

W&M finished the game shooting 51 percent (25-of-49) from the floor, while hitting on 7-of-21 from 3-point range. The Tribe did a great job of getting to the free throw line, hitting on 22-of-32 from the charity stripe. W&M also dished out 15 assists compared to just nine turnovers. The Dukes finished the game shooting 50 percent (31-of-62) from the field and 45.5 percent (10-of-22) from 3-point range.

Both teams started out on fire, trading blows back-and-forth through the early part of the first half. JMU led 14-11 following a Rayshawn Goins lay-up, before the Tribe went on an 8-0 run to take control. After a Ludwick 3-pointer tied the contest at 14, Britt connected on a pair of free throws, before Ludwick found sophomore Kyle Gaillard for a 3-pointer from the right corner. The triple put the Green and Gold up 19-14 at the 13-minute mark.

The Tribe lead ballooned to eight points following a back-to-back 3-pointers from Luckwick. His second triple of the sequence off a dish from Gaillard gave the College a 28-20 lead midway through the opening 20 minutes.

James Madison answered with six straight points over a minute stretch to pull back within two. After buckets from Moore and Louis, Semenov hit a pair of free throws to close the gap to 28-26 with 9:06 remaining.

Four straight points from freshman Tim Rusthoven put the Tribe on top by six with 5:41 remaining. He knocked down a mid-range jumper, before hitting on a pair of free throws to give the Tribe a 37-31 lead. The Dukes tied the game for the fifth time with six straight points as a Goins driving lay-up at the 4:13 mark tied the contest at 37.

After the two teams traded buckets, W&M scored seven straight points to regain the lead before halftime. McDowell highlighted the run, scoring the final six points, including a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line, to put the Tribe on top 46-39 with 1:05 remaining in the half. A Hitchens 3-pointer with 27 seconds remaining cut the Tribe advantage to 46-42 at the half.

The Tribe's rookie trio of Britt, Boatner and Rusthoven finished with 10 points apiece, giving W&M six players in double figures for the first time since Dec. 22, 1992 when it had six against Shenandoah. Boatner, who made his first collegiate start, hit two 3-pointers, dished out three assists and had a pair of steals for the Tribe.

Hitchens led the Dukes with 17 points, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range, as six JMU players scored in double figures. Bowles tallied a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Semenov and Goins finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively, to go along with six rebounds each. Moore finished with 11 points to go along with five assist, while Wells had 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Tribe continues its three-game homestand when it welcomes VCU to Kaplan Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 12, for a 7 p.m. tip. The game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet-Plus and regionally in Hampton Roads on WSKY. Tribe fans can catch the action over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley, Bill McDonald and Charlie Woollum on the call. The Tide 92.3 FM in Williamsburg is the flagship station of the Tribe Radio Network. The live audio as well as live stats will be available at TribeAtheltics.com. Fans can also purchase the live video feed at the home of W&M sports.