Dukes Fall to Hot-Shooting Kent State in Naples

Monday, November 22

Naples, Fla.

12 p.m.

James Madison University

4-1,0-0CAA

Kent State

2-1,0-0MAC

Kent St.

James Madison

11/22/2021 4:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - James Madison erased multiple double-digit deficits in the second half on Monday afternoon, but couldn't overcome a hot-shooting effort from Kent State as the Dukes dropped their first contest of the season in a 74-69 decision in the opening round of the Naples Invitational.

The Dukes (4-1) bounced back from a tough first period, shooting 55.6% after halftime, but KSU shot 51% (25-49) from the field on the afternoon and hit eight of 18 three-pointers to repeatedly answer runs from JMU and hold on for the win.

Sophomore forward Julien Wooden led the way for the Dukes, tallying 13 points and seven boards to lead JMU in both categories. Redshirt freshman Justin Amadi and junior Vado Morse each had 12 points, while graduate student Charles Falden added 11.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The two teams started their game of runs with a pair of back-and-forth efforts, as KSU took an 11-3 lead out of the gates, only for JMU to score nine straight and go back up, 12-11.

Kent State would go back on top, however, pushing their first-half advantage to as many as nine late in the half. The Golden Flashes took advantage of a cold shooting period from the Dukes, hitting five of their 11 first-half three-pointers to take a 34-26 lead into the break.

Second Half
Kent State continued pushing after halftime, expanding the lead to 11 at one point, then again to 49-39 with 13:21 to play. The Dukes immediately responded to that scoreline, ripping off 13 straight points to take a 52-49 lead on a layup from redshirt freshman Terell Strickland with 9:25 left.

The Golden Flashes queued up a run of their own immediately, scoring the next nine points to take a 58-52 lead that they would not relinquish the rest of the way.

JMU continued to fight back, chipping away at the lead across the final nine minutes and trimming the gap to just one when Falden drilled another corner three-pointer with 37.6 seconds to play, but a final three-pointer found iron and Kent State was able to put the game away at the free throw line.

QUICK HITS
- With his 13 points leading the team, Wooden became the fourth different JMU player to lead the Dukes in scoring across just five games.
- In addition his 12 points, Morse grabbed four of JMU's 14 steals, marking a new high for him in a JMU uniform.
- Monday marked the first time this year that the Dukes were outrebounded, giving up a 32-21 deficit.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will be back in action just one day later, taking on Wright State at 12 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 23. On Monday, the Raiders fell to George Washington in the first round to drop to 1-3 on the young season.

All games at the Naples Invitational are available on FloHoops.com.