Men's Basketball Uses Balanced Attack to Roll Past EKU

Friday, December 2

Harrisonburg, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

7-2,0-0Sun Belt

Eastern Kentucky

4-4,0-0ASUN

Eastern Ky.

James Madison

12/2/2022 11:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Photo Gallery Highlights

HARRISONBURG, Va. - In its first home game in nearly a month, James Madison men's basketball got double-digit scoring performances from five different players on Friday night as the Dukes rolled to a 97-80 win over Eastern Kentucky at the Atlantic Union Bank Center.

JMU (7-2) brought offense from the start, shooting 61% (36-59) on the evening - including a remarkable 75% (27-36) from inside the arc - as the Dukes cleared the 95-point barrier for the sixth time in their first nine contests.

Junior Noah Freidel and sophomore Terrence Edwards led the balanced attack, piling up 17 points each, with Freidel adding five boards and Edwards notching four assists. Junior Julien Wooden added a season-high 16 points, hitting all seven of his shots from the field on the evening.

The Dukes' starting forwards added to the damage, as sophomore Justin Amadi posted 15 points, five rebounds and three steals and graduate Mezie Offurum tallied 13 points and a game-high seven boards.

EKU forward Devontae Blanton led the way for the Colonels, going 3-4 from deep on his way to 17 points and five rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
JMU roared out of the gate, hitting six of its first seven shots and seven of its first 10 as it rode an early 14-3 run to a 20-7 lead after just 5:10 of action.

The Dukes kept the lead in double digits for the remainder of the opening half, using a 7-2 run to push the advantage to 42-24 with 6:10 left before taking things to halftime with a 48-34 lead.

Second Half
The Colonels struck back quickly, however, scoring the first eight points of the second half to chop the lead to six after just 1:22.

JMU responded with four straight points, but could not push the lead back past 12 until the 11:29 mark, when a three-point play from Wooden kicked off a 13-1 tear for the Dukes across just 2:08. The run gave JMU a 76-55 lead with 9:21 left and EKU would not get within 15 the rest of the way.

QUICK HITS
- The Dukes have shot at least 60% from the field in all three of their home games this season.
- JMU scored 95 or more points for the sixth time this year, the most instances in a single season since the Dukes did it seven times in the 1992-93 campaign.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will hit the road early next week, traveling across the mountain for a matchup with No. 3 Virginia - tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 6. The Cavaliers are already 6-0 on the season, with a home matchup against Florida State on tap for Saturday afternoon.