Strong Second Half Pushes Norfolk State Past JMU

Saturday, November 9

Norfolk, Va.

6 p.m.

James Madison University

1-1,0-0Sun Belt

Norfolk State

3-0,0-0MEAC

James Madison

Norfolk St.

Photo by: Monica Simon / Norfolk State

11/9/2024 8:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State shot 60 percent from the floor and outscored James Madison 51-36 in the second half in an 83-69 win over the Dukes on Saturday evening in front of 3,170 fans at Joseph. G Echols Hall.

Norfolk State improved to 3-0 and won its 18th consecutive game at home, while JMU fell to 1-1 on the season. Despite being outrebounded 40-26 for the game, the Spartans shot 76.1 percent (16-21) from the field in the second half to pull away.

Redshirt freshman Bryce Lindsay scored a career-high 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting off the bench, including a 5-for-11 mark from behind the arc. AJ Smith (14 points, 10 rebounds) finished with the 13th double-double of his career, and Xavier Brown led the Dukes with four assists while adding 13 points.

Christian Ings led the Norfolk State offense with 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting, one of four Spartans to reach double figures.

How It Happened
First Half

Brown scored five early points to help JMU build an 11-3 lead in the opening minutes, but Norfolk State used a 20-5 run to storm ahead 23-16 with 7:31 remaining in the half.
After being down 27-19, Smith capped off an 11-0 spurt with a dunk to put the Dukes ahead 30-27 with two minutes left in the half.
Brown hit his second triple of the half to put the Dukes ahead 33-29, but the Spartans answered with a 3-pointer of their own to make the score 33-32 at the break.
The Dukes outrebounded the Spartans 22-12 in the opening stanza, including eight offensive rebounds.

Second Half

The Spartans opened a 42-35 lead in the opening minutes of the second half after a 10-2 run.
A jumper from Brian Moore Jr. gave the Spartans their biggest lead of the night, 58-44, with just under 10 minutes left in the game.
Freeman nailed 3-pointers to cut the Spartans deficit to 62-56 with 7:14 remaining.
JMU got no closer than six (66-60) the rest of the way to put away the Dukes.

Game Notes

In five meetings, Norfolk State's victory marks the third straight over the Dukes. The Spartans now lead the all-time series 3-2.
Norfolk State has now won 18 consecutive games at Joseph G. Echols Hall, dating back to a 69-62 loss to Coppin State on Feb. 20, 2023.
Lindsay's 21-point outburst was the first 20-point game in the redshirt freshman's career.
JMU wore gold jerseys for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
Through two games, the Dukes have outrebounded their opponents by a margin of +16.0 and have corralled 34 offensive rebounds in those games.
Norfolk State finished with more points in the paint (30-20) while JMU held a dominating 18-0 edge in second-chance points.

Up Next
JMU returns to the Atlantic Union Bank Center to face off against Mary Baldwin on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Curt Dudley and Kirby Dean and can be heard on the radio on 92.1 FM / 500 AM with Dave Riggert.