HARRISONBURG, Va., Feb. 21, 2011 - Senior forward Denzel Bowles (Virginia Beach, Va./Kempsville) was named Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball Co-Player of the Week and NetScouts CAA Player of the Week after leading James Madison to a 2-0 week.
Bowles averaged 25 points and six rebounds in JMU's 72-61 win over Towson and 70-69 win over Miami. His week was highlighted by a 40-point effort at Towson, becoming the fourth different player in JMU history and seventh overall to record a 40-point game. He added five rebounds and followed that with 10 points and seven rebounds against Miami. He shot 60% from the floor for the week, including 7-for-10 in each half of his 40-point performance.
Bowles shared the CAA honor with Ryan Pearson of George Mason. Pearson averaged 19.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in Mason's key wins over VCU and Northern Iowa.
For the season, Bowles is second in the CAA in scoring (18.5/game), third in rebounding (9.1/game), and first in shooting percentage (.577). He recently became the 25th player in JMU history to reach 1,000 points, currently standing at 21st with 1,056. He set the JMU senior class record for rebounds by a senior with 265 and needs just 15 more to set a school season record.
JMU improved to 20-9 with the two victories last week. The Dukes picked up their 20th win in the regular season for just the second time in program history and first since 1981-82. They also reached 20 wins for the second time in three seasons under head coach Matt Brady.
Combined with JMU's women's team (21-6), it is the first time in school history that both programs achieved 20 wins in the regular season. JMU is one of just eight schools in the nation to reach 20 wins by both its men's and women's teams through Feb. 20. The others are Connecticut, Duke, Xavier, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, North Carolina, and Temple.
Bowles will be one of two players, along with guard Ben Louis (Melbourne, Australia/St. Francis Xavier), who will play their final JMU home game on Thursday. The Dukes host Old Dominion on Thursday night at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
