Layup in Final Seconds Hands Dukes Heartbreaking Loss at Radford

Saturday, November 25

Radford, Va.

4 p.m.

James Madison University

2-5 (0-0CAA)

Radford

3-2 (0-0BSC)

James Madison

Radford

Joey McLean Appalachian State AppState 112217

Layup in Final Seconds Hands Dukes Heartbreaking Loss at Radford

11/25/2017 8:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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HARRISONBURG, Va. - Radford got an off-balance layup to fall with less than six seconds to play on Saturday evening, handing James Madison a heartbreaking, 69-68 loss in non-conference men's basketball action at the Dedmon Center.

The Dukes (2-5) held the powerful Radford (3-2) offense in check for much of the evening, limiting the Highlanders to just 41.4 percent (24-of-58) shooting, including a 10-of-31 (32.3 percent) clip in the second half. However, the Highlanders outrebounded JMU, 36-29, and pulled down 16 offensive boards on the night.

In a back-and-forth contest that saw 14 lead changes in the second half, the Highlanders took a five-point lead--their largest of the game--with 3:14 to play. Despite the deficit, JMU used six straight points to take a 68-67 lead with 1:01 left.

After the Dukes got a defensive stop, however, Radford got an offensive rebound and took advantage. JMU nearly stifled another possession, but an off-balance pass as a Highlander was falling out of bounds found its way to Ed Polite, Jr., who was able to take a dribble and get a leaning layup to drop giving Radford the victory.

Senior guard Joey McLean led the way again for the Dukes, racking up 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including a 3-of-5 mark from beyond the arc and 12 of his 19 in the second half. Freshman Darius Banks matched the best scoring performance of his young career with 15 points that included 10 in the first half alone.

QUOTING COACH ROWE
"This one hurts, because we felt like we could have gotten a big road win over a strong Radford team. I'm proud of the guys for fighting like crazy for 40 minutes and making a big step forward on the defensive end. We need to do a better job on the boards than we did tonight."

QUICK HITS
- The Dukes racked up nine more steals on the evening, bringing their season total to 61 and their average to 8.7. Entering Saturday, 61 steals would rank eighth in Division I thus far.
- Senior guard Joey McLean scored all 12 of his second-half points from the 7:21 mark on, including all six of the Dukes' 6-0 run to take their final lead in the final minutes.
- Junior Develle Phillips posted an efficient night, battling foul trouble to rack up seven points (3-3 FG), five boards and two blocks across just 21 minutes.

UP NEXT
The Dukes return home this week for a pair of contests at the Convocation Center, beginning with a 7 p.m. bout against in-state rival George Mason on Wednesday, Nov. 29. After going 2-2 at the Cancun Challenge last week, the Patriots will come to the Convocation Center with a 3-3 record on the year.