JMU Falls to George Mason on Black Friday

Friday, November 29

Harrisonburg, Va.

4 p.m.

James Madison University

4-4,0-0Sun Belt

George Mason

5-3,0-0Atlantic 10

George Mason

James Madison

11/29/2024 8:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison men's basketball shot a season-low 35.7 percent from the field and fell to George Mason, 66-61, inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center on Friday afternoon.

George Mason (5-3) shot 54.2 percent in the second half and made six of their last seven shots from the floor to hold off JMU (4-4), who finished 10-for-40 from behind the arc (.250).

Redshirt freshman Bryce Lindsay knocked down five three-pointers and finished with a team-high 19 points, while AJ Smith tied a season-high 10 rebounds while adding two points. Elijah Hutchins-Everett finished with 10 points and six rebounds and Mark Freeman led the Dukes with four assists.

Jalen Haynes finished with a team-leading 20 points and eight rebounds to lead the Patriots. K.D. Johnson (14) and Darius Maddox (13) also scored in double figures for GMU, who recorded 34 points in the paint.

How It Happened
First Half: George Mason 26, James Madison 24

GMU jumped out to an early 7-2 lead as the Patriots capitalized on early Duke miscues.
The Dukes then used a 7-2 run to tie things up at nine at the 13:23 mark of the first, capped by Lindsay's first triple.
A three-minute George Mason scoring drought allowed the Dukes to take their first lead, 23-21, with 3:52 to play in the first.
Mason was able to close the half on a 5-1 run and lead 26-24 at the break, as both squads set a new season-low for points in the first half.

Second Half: George Mason 40, James Madison 37

A pair of baskets from Freeman kept the score tied at 28 as the two squads remained close in the first few minutes of the half.
The Patriots then used a 7-0 run to take a 35-28 lead with 16:01 as turnovers stymied the Dukes.
GMU would extend the lead to nine at 42-33 with 13:31 to go, but back-to-back threes from Luke Anderson cut it to 42-39 at the 12:41 mark of the second.
The Patriots pushed the lead back to six (45-39) on a Johnson three-ball before eight straight points from the Dukes gave JMU a 47-45 lead. Lindsay capped the run with his fourth three-pointer of the game.
Lindsay hit another 3-pointer to take back a 50-48 lead, but George Mason swung back ahead 54-50 on a three-point play from Johnson and a 3-pointer from Zach Anderson.
A free throw gave the Patriots a 63-59 lead, but a layup from Lindsay trimmed the deficit to two (63-61).
George Mason iced the game at the free-throw line as K.D. Johnson put the game away with a second left.

Game Notes

James Madison finished with a season-low 61 points and 35.9 percent shooting.
Over his last five games, Bryce Lindsay is averaging 16.8 points per game and shooting 20-for-37 from behind the arc (.540).
Lindsay is one of six players nationally averaging more than 15.0 points per game while coming off the bench.
George Mason now leads the all-time series, 49-48.

Up Next
JMU welcomes ETSU to the Atlantic Union Bank Center on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. The game will stream on ESPN+ and on WSVA 92.1 FM | 550 AM with Dave Riggert.