WILLIAMSBURG — Marcus Marshall waited the extra millisecond he’d been struggling to find the patience for since arriving at James Madison.

The Georgia Tech transfer running back took a handoff, let his blocks align and found the hole before bouncing to his left to get up the sideline and into the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown jaunt.

His score gave the Dukes a 36-0 lead with less than 14 minutes to play.

“I thought especially there in the second half Marcus was able to find the creases and be a little bit more patient,” JMU coach Mike Houston said.

Marshall didn’t get his first carry until late in the first quarter, but finished as the team’s leading rusher with 64 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries.

Houston said Marshall relaxes as the game goes on.

“And Marcus knows, coming from the [triple-option] offense that he was in at Georgia Tech, it’s come out of your stance and go as fast and as hard as you can,” Houston said. “You may get the ball or you may not, but you’re going to get blown up one way or the other.

“That’s what playing fullback is like in that offense.”

With Marshall seated to Houston’s left during the postgame press conference, the 5-foot-10, 207-pounder nodded in agreement with his coach.

“That’s what it is,” Marshall, who was the Yellow Jackets’ leading rusher in each of the past two years, said.

In JMU’s previous two games — against Villanova and at Delaware — Marshall combined to run for 35 yards on 15 carries. He hadn’t scored a touchdown since Week 3 against Norfolk State.

“I think a lot of it was my patience when I was running,” Marshall said. “I’ve been trying to get better at it, and I think I have and I’m going to continue to each week.”

During the Dukes’ final offensive series of the first half, he ran on all four plays for 23 yards — his final touch capped the drive on a 1-yard scoring plunge.

On the season, Marshall has carried 76 times for 417 yards and five touchdowns.

Junior cornerback Jimmy Moreland’s fourth-quarter 38-yard interception return for a touchdown was the Dukes’ third defensive score in as many games.

JMU senior linebacker Brandon Hereford had a 5-yard interception return for a touchdown against Villanova on Oct. 14 and in the team’s Sept. 30 win at Delaware, senior defensive end Andrew Ankrah recorded a 23-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.

After converting a 30-yard field goal, JMU junior kicker Tyler Gray appeared to get hurt on the ensuing kickoff.

The kickoff was unusually short as William & Mary’s Alex Purviance fielded it as his own 20 and returned it to the 34-yard line. After the kick, Gray hobbled off the field and never re-entered.

“I think he’ll be OK eventually,” Houston said. “It’s a hip strain, but nothing extremely serious.”

Gray, the primary place kicker and kickoff specialist, was replaced by backup Ethan Ratke, who covered field goals from 36 yards and 39 yards in the second half.

Before exiting, Gray made a 42-yard field goal as well.

With four field goals in the contest, Gray and Ratke combined to set the program record for field goals made in a single game.

JMU will try to extend its nation’s longest active winning streak in Division I to 20 games on Saturday when New Hampshire visits Bridgeforth Stadium for the Dukes’ homecoming contest.

The Wildcats are 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association after knocking off Towson 40-17 over the weekend.

The Dukes beat UNH twice last year — 42-39 in the regular season on the road and 55-22 in the second round of the FCS playoffs in Harrisonburg.