Game Story; JMU 71, Liberty 69

Saturday, November 25

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James Madison University

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LIBERTY

JAMES MADISON

11/25/2000 10:51:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. (11/25/2000) – Tim Lyle scored all of his 18 points during the second half, and JMU held off late-charging Liberty for a 71-60 non-conference win.

Lyle hit on 10 of 13 free throws and gave JMU a 67-57 lead by hitting on one of two attempts with 28 seconds left, but Liberty scored 12 points during the final 23 seconds, all by Chris Caldwell. Caldwell had three-point field goals at the 23- and 15-second marks; he hit on three free throws with eight seconds left; and he had a traditional three-point play with one second remaining. Lyle then saved a length-of-the floor JMU pass, and Liberty got off only a desperation heave at the final horn.

JMU never trailed, but Liberty continually battled back after falling behind by double figures. JMU led 19-7 after seven minutes, but the Flames rallied to within two points late during the first half and trailed only 29-25 at halftime.

JMU scored the first seven points of the second half to lead 36-25, but the Flames pulled to within 40-37 with 11:23 remaining. The Dukes later had leads of 51-41 with 6:21 to play, 61-50 with 1:28 remaining and their 67-57 edge with 28 seconds left.

Lyle led four Dukes in double figures in scoring. Ian Caskill had his second double-double of the season with a career-high 14 points and 10 rebounds; senior guard Dwayne Braxton had 13 points for the third straight game; and David Fanning had 11 points, five assists and six steals.

JMU shot only 40.4 percent (19-47) overall but hit on eight of 15 second-half shots (53.3 percent). The Dukes hit on 31 of 41 free throw attempts, including 25 of 33 during the second half and 18 of 25 during the final 3:37. JMU's last 18 points came from the foul line.

Liberty shot 40.7 percent (24-59) and had a 40-30 rebounding edge. The Flames had 21 turnovers and JMU 15.

Caldwell scored Liberty's last 14 points and led all scorers with 22 points. Nathan Day, who had 11 points and eight rebounds, was the Flames' only other double-figure scorer.