Morse, Men's Basketball Charge Past Louisiana

Saturday, February 18

Harrisonburg, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

20-9,11-5Sun Belt

Louisiana

21-7,11-5Sun Belt

Louisiana

James Madison

2/18/2023 11:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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HARRISONBURG, Va. - James Madison held Louisiana without a basket for more than six minutes down the stretch on Saturday night, battling its way to a 74-68 win over the second-place Ragin' Cajuns in Sun Belt Conference men's basketball at the Atlantic Union Bank Center.

The Dukes (20-9, 11-5 SBC) moved into a tie for third place in the Sun Belt with the win, committing just two turnovers after halftime and scoring 45 points in the second half to outrun Louisiana (21-7, 11-5), which came into the contest as the league's most efficient offense.

Senior guard Vado Morse led the way, racking up 24 points - including his 1,000th in a JMU uniform - to go with four assists and two steals while not committing a turnover across 33 minutes. In the second half alone, Morse went 6-8 from the field, 3-4 from deep and hit all five of his free throws on his way to 20 points and a pair of assists.

Graduate forward Mezie Offurum continued to come up big in the paint for JMU, tallying 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals on the night, while sophomore guard Terrence Edwards chipped in 12 points, six boards and three assists.

JMU went up by as many as 11 in the second half, but saw the Cajuns come back to take the lead with 6:03 to play before using an 8-1 run to take the lead for good.

Louisiana forward and Preseason SBC Player of the Year Jordan Brown went for 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Cajuns, but fouled out with 3:13 remaining.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Both teams struggled to score against each other's defense in the opening minutes, as the two sides combined to hit just three of their first 20 attempts from the field.

Once shots began falling, the two teams traded points, with neither group leading by more than the Cajuns' 26-21 advantage with 2:36 to play in the half.

The Dukes closed the half in strong fashion, however, capping their ensuing 8-3 run with a Morse layup at the horn to tie things at 29-29 going into the break.

Second Half
JMU came out of the break hot, with Morse and junior guard Noah Freidel knocking down three pointers on consecutive possessions to start the half. The Dukes immediately followed that with a 12-4 run capped by another Morse three-pointer that pushed the lead to 47-36 at the 15:32 mark.

Louisiana immediately responded, however, ripping off a 17-2 run that included 13 straight points and put the Cajuns back on top by four with 10:04 to play. They would halt another JMU run with a three-pointer at the 7:13 mark that put them up, 58-56, but that would be their last made field goal until there was 1:12 remaining in the game.

The Dukes took advantage, taking a six-point lead with 1:57 to play before Louisiana cut it to three. Graduate guard Takal Molson rattled home a dagger three-pointer from the right corner with 46 seconds left to give JMU a 71-65 lead and allow the Dukes to seal the victory at the free throw line.

QUICK HITS
- Senior Vado Morse became the 34th different player to score 1,000 points in a JMU uniform, having done so in just 72 games in Harrisonburg. Morse has 1,769 total points in his collegiate career.
- With the victory, Head Coach Mark Byington has won five straight games against Louisiana and is 8-5 against the Cajuns all time.
- Graduate forward Alonzo Sule scored his 1,000th collegiate point on Saturday night.
- Each of the Dukes' last five victories have been by single digits and this marks the first time since the 2017-18 season that JMU has played six straight single-digit games.

SUN BELT STANDINGS
Southern Miss | 13-3
Marshall | 12-4
James Madison | 11-5
Louisiana | 11-5
Troy | 9-7
ODU | 9-7
South Alabama | 8-8
App State | 8-8
ULM | 7-9
Georgia Southern | 7-9
Texas State | 6-10
Coastal Carolina | 5-11
Arkansas State | 3-13
Georgia State | 3-13

UP NEXT
The Dukes remain at home for two games to close the regular season next week, beginning with second-place Marshall at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 22. On Thursday night, the Thundering Herd took down Troy in an 88-78 win to improve to 23-6 (12-4 SBC) and take sole possession of second place in the league.