JMU Comeback Falls Short Against App State

Saturday, January 13

Harrisonburg, Va.

4 p.m.

James Madison University

15-2,3-2Sun Belt

App State

13-4,4-1Sun Belt

App State

James Madison

1/13/2024 7:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – App State built a 16-point lead but fended off multiple James Madison rallies in a 59-55 victory over the Dukes at the Atlantic Union Bank Center on Saturday evening.

JMU (15-2, 3-2 Sun Belt) dropped its second Sun Belt Conference game of the season, while App State (13-4, 4-1 SBC) won for its 12th time in 14 games.

Terrence Edwards Jr. led all JMU players with 19 points, while Xavier Brown scored 10 points -all in the second half - and recorded a career-high five steals. T.J. Bickerstaff led all Dukes with seven rebounds and added six points of his own.

Defensively, JMU forced a season-high 23 turnovers from the Mountaineers, including 17 steals. Along with Brown's five, Edwards Jr. recorded four of his own. The Dukes held App State to 4-of-14 (.290) from behind the arc, but shot 36 percent from the floor and 3-of-17 (.180) from three.

App State used by 15 points from Myles Tate off the bench, while Justin Abson picked up 12 points and a game-high four blocks. Tre'Von Spillers led all players with 10 rebounds.

How It Happened
First Half

App State jumped out to an 8-4 lead at the first media timeout and extended its lead to 14-6 on a 3-pointer from Christopher Mantis with 13:15 left in the first half.
JMU was held scoreless for over three minutes as the Mountaineers stretched their lead to 26-10 with 9:17 left.
A jumper from Myles Tate gave App State its biggest lead (30-14) of the contest with five minutes remaining in the first.
Noah Freidel broke the run with a layup, and the Dukes used an 11-0 run of their own to cut the deficit to five (30-25) at half, with Edwards Jr. either scoring or assisting on nine of the 11 points.
Through one half, App State's 15 turnovers was already a season-high for the Mountaineers.
JMU was held without a made 3-pointer (0-for-5) in the first half.

Second Half

Michael Green III capped off a 13-0 run for JMU which bridged the halves and trimmed the App State lead to 30-27 with 19:20 remaining.
Xavier Brown hit the Dukes' first triple of the game to make it 39-36, which forced an App State timeout with 13:30 left in the game. Brown hit another 3-pointer to tie the game at 39 on the next possession.
JMU took its first lead of the contest (44-43) on a free throw from Jaylen Carey with 9:11 remaining.
After App State's Donovan Gregory took the lead back with a pull-up jumper, Julien Wooden hit a triple with 3:48 left to give the Dukes a 53-51 lead, their biggest lead of the game.
App State scored the games next six points to grab a 57-53 lead.
Brown cut the deficit to two (57-55) on a layup with 16 seconds left, but Tate hit two free throws to help App State escape with the 59-55 win.

Game Notes

The attendance of 7,761 is the third highest in the history of the Atlantic Union Bank Center and second largest of the season (8,014 vs. Radford). The record was set in 2021 when a crowd of 8,439 saw the Dukes defeat Virginia.
Edwards Jr. finished with 19 points, the 15th time in 17 games the junior has reached double-figures. For the season, Edwards Jr. is averaging 17.1 points per game.
The four-point loss marks the sixth time in nine games between JMU and App State that have been decided by 10 points or fewer.
JMU now trails App State in the all-time series, 3-6.
App State out-rebounded JMU 42-30, just the fourth time this season the Dukes have lost the rebounding battle.
The Mountaineers edged the Dukes in bench points (21-17), points in the paint (38-30), and blocks (7-1).
The 17 steals for JMU are its second highest total of the season (22 vs. Coppin State).

Up Next
JMU continues its four game home stand, playing host to ULM on Thursday at 8 p.m. The game will stream on ESPN+, and Dave Riggert will provide radio coverage via the JMU Radio Network 92.1 FM/550 AM and the Varsity Network App.