Bowles scores 21, Wells 20 as James Madison comes back to beat Virginia Commonwealth 76-71

James Madison rallies to defeat VCU 76-71

HARRISONBURG, Va. — Denzel Bowles scored 21 points and Julius Wells 20 as James Madison rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to beat Virginia Commonwealth 76-71 on Saturday night.

A 3-pointer by Wells with 48 seconds remaining put the Dukes (11-15, 4-11 Colonial Athletic Association) ahead 72-69 and four free throws by Pierre Curtis in the final 18 seconds helped them end a four-game losing streak.

Curtis was 8-for-8 on free throws with 10 points and six assists.

James Madison opened the second half with a 19-2 run to lead 52-43 with 15:01 left. The Rams (17-7, 9-6) whittled the margin and took their only lead the rest of the way, 63-62, with 3:52 left on a basket by Larry Sanders, who had 15 points and 14 rebounds.

Joey Rodriguez added 14 points for VCU and Jamie Skeen scored all 12 of his points in the first half.

Bowles had 17 of his points for the Dukes in the first half.