ORONO

The University of Maine’s Black Bears went toe-to-toe with James Madison University for three quarters, but the 11th-ranked Dukes broke the game open with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns en route to a hard-fought 31- 20 Colonial Athletic Association victory at Alfond Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Junior quarterback Bryan Schor tossed a 19-yard touchdown pass to John Miller on third-and-11 1:46 into the fourth quarter to give the Dukes a 24-20 lead and, following a Raven Greene interception, Cardon Johnson dashed 52 yards to give them the game’s first double-digit lead for either team in the seesaw affair.

Senior running back Khalid Abdullah ran for a career-high 172 yards on 22 carries and Johnson added 110 yards on 13 carries. Abdullah ran 85 yards for a third-quarter score to make it 17-13, but Darian Davis- Ray answered with a 3-yard TD run.

Dan Collins completed 13 of 22 passes for 238 yards and was intercepted three times.

James Madison entered the game averaging 54.7 points per game and the Dukes took the opening kickoff and marched 54 yards to take a 7-0- lead on Abdullah’s 3-yard run. Abdullah carried the ball six times for 45 yards on the drive.

It was the fourth straight game the Dukes had scored on their opening drive.

JMU reached Maine’s 31 and 23-yard line on two ensuing drives, but the Black Bears buckled down and kept the Dukes from adding to their lead.

Maine pulled within 7-6 by stringing together a six-play, 80-yard drive that spanned the first and second quarters. A 14-yard pass from Dan Collins to Jared Osumah followed by a 36- yard screen pass from Davis- Ray set up the 23-yard TD run by Earnest Edwards on an end-around as Collins handed off to Davis-Ray who then pitched it to Edwards, who scampered around the right end.

JMU responded with an 11-play 52-yard drive that resulted in a 31-yard field goal by Tyler Gray after Schor overthrew an open Jonathan Kloosterman on a third-and-10 at the 14.

The Black Bears took their first lead as they went 75 yards on six plays capped by Nigel Beckford’s determined two-yard run. Collins threw a 40-yard pass to Micah Wright and a 22-yard screen pass to Beckford on the drive.