Morse, Freidel Pace Dukes Past Georgia Southern

Saturday, January 14

Harrisonburg, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

12-7,3-3Sun Belt

Georgia Southern

11-8,4-2Sun Belt

Ga. Southern

James Madison

1/14/2023 10:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Photo Gallery Highlights Press Conference

HARRISONBURG, Va. - James Madison posted its strongest shooting night since the start of conference play on Saturday night, riding stellar scoring performances from Vado Morse and Noah Freidel to an 83-71 win over Georgia Southern in Sun Belt Conference men's basketball at the Atlantic Union Bank Center.

The Dukes (12-7, 3-3 SBC) consistently knocked down shots, shooting 55.3% (26-47) from the field while knocking down 11 of their 20 (55%) three-point attempts to outrun the Eagles (11-8, 4-2) on a night that saw both teams commit 14 turnovers in a fast-paced contest.

Freidel and Morse combined to hit 10 of the Dukes' triples, going 10-16 as a pair to provide the spark for the JMU offense. Morse would finish with 25 points, adding a 7-of-9 night at the free throw line to his four three-pointers, while Freidel tallied 20 points of his own to go along with four rebounds and a pair of assists.

Graduates Mezie Offurum and Takal Molson each scored 13 points while leading JMU with six rebounds apiece, with Molson tacking on three steals and three assists.

Georgia Southern forward Andrei Savrasov led five Eagles in double figures, racking up 14 points to go along with a game-high nine boards and three steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
JMU popped out to an early 10-4 lead in the opening minutes, but the Eagles quickly stormed back to take a 14-12 lead on a Savrasov three-pointer with 10:41 left in the period.

From there, the Dukes ran off their first hot shooting stretch of the night, drilling six straight shots with three straight from Freidel and the final four all coming from behind the three-point line. The flurry gave JMU a 28-22 advantage that it would not relinquish.

The final basket of that stretch was the first of 10 straight points for the Dukes, as they stretched the lead to as much as 35-22 with 3:13 on the clock before GSU chipped into the lead to make it 39-30 heading into the break.

Second Half
The opening minutes of the second half were back and forth, as the Eagles cut the lead to five in just 1:36 of game time, but Morse ripped off the Dukes' first 11 points of the period himself, building the lead back up to 50-38 less than two minutes later.

GSU would get things back within seven in the middle of the period, but an 8-1 run for JMU made the lead 65-51 with 10:06 to play and the Eagles would not get back within single digits.

With 5:58 to play, Freidel's sixth and final three-pointer capped a 7-0 run to make it 5:58 and put things out of reach despite eight straight GSU points in the final minutes.

QUICK HITS
- Vado Morse's scoring performance marked his seventh game with at least 25 points since arriving at JMU.
- The Dukes' 55% clip from three is the fifth game this year in which JMU has made at least half its three-pointers while making at least 10.
- Mezie Offurum has now scored in double figures 12 times in his 16 games and has pulled at least six rebounds 10 times.

UP NEXT
The Dukes head south on a crucial two-game road trip this week, starting with a trip to Troy on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET. On Saturday afternoon, the Trojans dropped a 58-45 decision at App State to fall to 12-7 (4-2 SBC) and are currently part of a six-way tie atop the Sun Belt standings.