Game Story; JMU 65, Navy 60

Sunday, November 30

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James Madison University

2-1

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0-4

Navy

James Madison

11/30/2003 12:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. (11/30/2003) – JMU scored the last nine points, all but two on free throws, to rally for the 65-60 win.

Ray Barbosa hit on three free throws to put the Dukes on top to stay, 61-60 with 1:40 to play as the Dukes retook a lead they had lost with 6:44 remaining. Navy failed to put the ball back in play on the ensuing possession within the five-second count, and Chris Cathlin went on to hit the first of two free throws at 1:19.

Daniel Freeman grabbed the rebound on a missed three-point attempt by Navy's Taj Mathews and was fouled. Freeman on hit both ends of the two-shot foul to give the Dukes a 64-60 lead with 0:36 left. Freeman went on to pull in what proved to be the clinching rebound on another three-point miss with 22 seconds to go. Barbosa then was fouled again, and he connected on the first of two free throws to account for the final margin.

The Dukes got 19 points at foul line on 29 chances. Navy made only six trips to the foul line and made half of its tries.

Navy rallied from a 34-26 halftime deficit and a 38-26 difference just more than a minute into the final half by outscoring JMU 21-8 through the first 10:44 of the second half. The Midshipmen's defense forced the Dukes into nine misses on their first 13 shots of the second half, and JMU turned the ball over four times during the stretch. Navy also controlled the boards and finished with a 42-33 rebounding advantage for the game.

Taj Mathews' three-pointer and gave the Middies their first lead, 45-42, with 9:54 to play. The scoring surge was bolstered by David Hooper, who scored eight of his team-high 20 points during a six-minute stretch.

Navy's largest lead, 47-42, came with 9:16 to go on a tip-in by Jeff Charles. The game was tied four times, and the Middies trailed for only 1:32 of game time until Barbosa's crucial free throws. JMU didn't have a turnover during the final 10 minutes and had only seven in the game after committing 35 during its first two outings of the season.

JMU led by 12 on two occasions. The first was 34-22 with 4:09 remaining in the first half on a Barbosa three-pointer and the second 38-26 on Barbosa's layup with 18:53 left.

Barbosa was JMU's top scorer for the second time during the season with 21 points. Cathlin had a career-high 14 points, a team-high eight rebounds, and three steals and blocks.

Charles had a game-high 12 rebounds and 19 points for Navy.