TOWSON, Md. — For a while Saturday afternoon, it looked like James Madison was about to carry on with momentum from its best offensive showing of the season.

A week after scorching UNC Wilmington for 104 points, the Dukes hit their first three shots at Towson and senior shooting guard Stuckey Mosley scored 14 quick first-half points.

But it soon became apparent it wasn’t going to be another hot-shooting afternoon for Louis Rowe’s squad. JMU (10-15, 3-9 Colonial Athletic Association) finished the day shooting just 39 percent from the field and lost to the Tigers 66-59. Mosley finished the game 5-of-18 from the floor after making his first four shots and the Dukes remained in last place in the conference.

“You got to knock down the open ones,” Rowe said. “They made [Mosley] work. He needs to understand that sometimes a pump-fake and drive will get him into the lane. Maybe not settle for a 3 and get into the lane because guys are going to be on that. I think that would open some things up, individually for him, and specifically for the team.”

Shooting woes are not unfamiliar for JMU, particularly on the road. As much as Rowe and his players have tried to play off any difference between games at the Convocation Center and away from home, the numbers tell a different story.

The Dukes are 6-4 at home this season and shooting 50.5 percent inside their own arena. Away from Harrisonburg, JMU is 4-11 and shooting just 41 percent. In all, the Dukes are ninth in the 10-team CAA in field-goal percentage at 43 percent and eighth in the league in scoring, averaging 70.2 points per game.

Defensively, JMU has been solid, right in the middle of the conference allowing 72.5 points per game, but the -2.3 differential only illustrates a fact the Dukes are all too aware of: One or two more made buckets a game could have a dramatic effect on the overall record.

“I know I have to score for this team,” Mosley said after the Towson game. “If my shots aren’t falling, I just have to keep playing my game. We have to focus on the offensive execution and getting stops. We got good looks, we just didn’t knock them down in the second half.”

It’s hard to pinpoint any definitive reasons for a big difference in home and away shooting percentages. But unlike many teams with dedicated practice facilities, the Dukes practice each day on the Convocation Center floor and with no lower-level seats on the baselines, it’s a different look around the basket than most college arenas.

So as Madison tries to make a push out of the cellar, it seems fortunate for the Dukes that four of the final six regular-season games are at home. It starts this week with Drexel visiting the Convocation Center on Thursday and Delaware in town Saturday.

JMU will need the shooting numbers to swing back in its favor as it gets ready for rematches with the Dragons and Blue Hens. The Dukes picked up a pair of losses earlier this season in a trip through the Greater Philadelphia region, shooting 39.8 percent in the two games.

“Our mindset as to be get back home and get focused,” JMU sophomore guard Darius Banks said. “We’ve got to play a 40-minute game, and that’s been the mindset all year. We just haven’t found a way to play a 40-minute game all the way.”