Defense, Balanced Scoring Push Dukes to Victory Over ETSU

Tuesday, December 3

Harrisonburg, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

5-4,0-0Sun Belt

ETSU

6-3,0-0SoCon

ETSU

James Madison

Defense, Balanced Scoring Push Dukes to Victory Over ETSU

12/3/2024 11:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison men's basketball led wire-to-wire and held ETSU to a season-low 35.9 field goal percentage to take a 71-61 victory over the Buccaneers on Tuesday night inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center.

JMU (5-4) led by as many as 16 points (46-30) in the second half and weathered an ETSU run which saw the lead dwindle to three (62-59) with just under six minutes remaining. However, in the closing minutes, the Dukes held the Buccaneers to three points and 1-of-12 from the field to close the victory.

Mark Freeman and Elijah Hutchins-Everett each scored 16 points to lead the Dukes, while Xavier Brown tallied a season-high five assists and AJ Smith scored 13 points and collected six rebounds.

Quimari Peterson led all Buccaneers with 19 points while corralling eight boards. Jaden Seymour (18) and John Buggs III (15) also reached double figures for ETSU.

How It Happened
First Half: James Madison 37, ETSU 27

JMU jumped on ETSU early, opening a 7-0 lead in the opening minutes. Hutchins-Everett started the scoring with a 3-pointer and Eddie Ricks III and Smith added two points.
ETSU's John Buggs III scored the Buccaneer's first three points of the game, but JMU immediately responded with a 6-0 run, capped by an Ebenezer Dowuona alley-oop to make it 13-3 at the 15:17 mark.
ETSU narrowed the gap with a 7-0 run while JMU was held scoreless for over three minutes, as the Buccaneers cut the deficit to five (22-17) on a three-pointer from Buggs III.
With 4:30 left in the first half, the Dukes offense was revived with back-to-back buckets made by Freeman followed by a 3-pointer from Bryce Lindsay.
JMU shot 80 percent from the line in the first half, aiding the Dukes in their 10-point lead at the half.

Second Half: James Madison 34, ETSU 34

JMU started the second half out-scoring ETSU 7-3 in the first four minutes.
With 12 minutes left in regulation, the Dukes outscored the Buccaneers in the paint 26-10.
ETSU cut JMU's lead to five (58-52) on a 3-pointer from Quimari Peterson with 7:14 left.
Though ETSU narrowed the scoring gap to three with 5:55 left, the dukes held the Buccaneers scoreless for the following four minutes and 21 seconds.
With 19 seconds left after draining the shot clock, Smith secured the 71-61 win for the Dukes finishing the final play of the game with a dunk.

Game Notes

The Dukes improved to 8-5 in the all-time series against ETSU in the two programs' first meeting since Dec. 5, 2012.
JMU held ETSU to 27 first-half points, the third straight opponent the Dukes have held to under 30 points. In its last five games, JMU has surrendered only 69.2 points per game.
Elijah Hutchins-Everett played in his 100th career game, scoring in double figures for the 47th time.
JMU lost the rebounding battle (37-35) for the first time this season.

Up Next
The Dukes will close their three-game homestand with Utah Valley on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 4 p.m. inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center. The game will stream on ESPN+ with Curt Dudley and Kirby Dean and on the radio with Dave Riggert on WSVA 92.1 FM | 550 AM and the Varsity Network App.