Edwards Jr. Leads Dukes to 84-78 Victory at Georgia State

Wednesday, February 28

Atlanta, Ga.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

27-3,14-3Sun Belt

Georgia State

13-16,7-10Sun Belt

James Madison

Georgia St.

Edwards Jr. Leads Dukes to 84-78 Victory at Georgia State

2/28/2024 11:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

ATLANTA, Ga. – Terrence Edwards Jr. led the charge in his hometown with a career-high 30-point performance, guiding the James Madison men's basketball team to another significant victory. The Dukes (27-3, 14-3 SBC) secured an 84-78 win against Georgia State (13-16, 7-10 SBC) at the Georgia State Convocation Center on Wednesday night, marking yet another milestone in their impressive season.

Edwards' 30 points and T.J. Bickerstaff's 14 points collectively accounted for 52 percent of the Dukes' scoring. It was the tenth time this season that Edwards scored more than 20 points. It was also the tenth time that Bickerstaff recorded a double-double this season, which ranks in the Top-40.

It was the team's 27^th win of the season overall, and its 11^th road victory, which is the most in the nation for both categories. The win also marked the 84^th of Julien Wooden's career at JMU, setting a new program record. The previous mark of 83 career wins had been set by Dan Ruland and David Dupont, who both played at James Madison from 1979-1983. Wooden had seven points and four rebounds on Wednesday night.

Georgia State had five players score in double figures, including Lucas Taylor, who led the Panthers with 18 points. Jay'Den Turner recorded a 14-point 10-rebound double-double, but GSU was unable to complete the late comeback.

How It Happened
1^st Half

Georgia State gained the first lead as a jump shot by Lucas Taylor started the scoring.
Xavier Brown gave the Dukes their first lead on a corner three. He then found T.J. Bickerstaff on a pick-and-roll to make it 5-2. Edwards made his first two 3-pointers, including one with the shot clock winding down as a part of an 8-0 run for the Dukes.
Edwards' second 3-pointer put the Dukes up by eight points, which was their largest lead of the first half (18-10).
GSU then went on a 7-2 run to make it 20-17. This built into a 14-4 run over a 6:30 span, and the Panthers were able to eventually pull up to a 34-29 lead, their largest of the game, with just under five minutes left in the half.
Over the next 4:44, JMU outscored the Panthers 16-8, as Edwards scored eight points during this time.
Coach Mark Byington called a timeout with just over 8 seconds left. Following the inbound pass, Edwards drove the lane and put a shot up at the buzzer to give JMU a 46-42 lead entering halftime. He finished the half with 19 points.
The Panthers had 13 points from the free throw line (13-13) in the first 20 minutes of action.

2^nd Half

The Panthers missed their first four shots of the new half before Turner connected on a jumper. They then missed another four consecutive shots, shooting just 10 percent over a four-minute span.
Meanwhile for JMU, Bickerstaff scored four points and Edwards hit another three as a part of an 11-2 run for JMU in the first four minutes.
Through the first ten minutes, the Dukes' defense continued to give GSU issues. JMU outscored the Panthers 22-8 and held them to shoot just 17.6 percent from the field in this time (3-17). With 9:59 left, the Dukes had a 21-point advantage - their largest lead of the game (71-50).
Over the next 6:26, Georgia State was able to score 23 points. JMU scored just six points during this stretch, and the Panthers were back within four (77-73). GSU was 5-of-8 from the field across this run, which included four 3-pointers.
14 of the Panthers' final 19 points were scored from the free throw line. They closed the game by hitting just two of their final eight shots from the field.
It was still just a four-point game when Coach Byington called one final timeout with just over 30 seconds remaining. Out of the timeout, Raekwon Horton hit another clutch 3-pointer to give the Dukes a cushion.
JMU was able to close the game out from the free throw line. Edwards hit all 10 of his free throws on the night, eight of which came in the final ten minutes, and the Dukes were able to seal the victory 84-78 on the road.

Other Notes:

GSU finished the game with just eight assists, five of which came in this first period of play. The Dukes had 15, and now average 16.5 assists per game which ranks 27th in the nation.
Both teams were relatively good at limiting turnovers. JMU had eight turnovers, while GSU had just four throughout the game.
In addition to 44 collective points from Edwards and Bickerstaff, Noah Freidel added nine, Xavier Brown had eight, Wooden and Jaylen Carey each had seven, Horton finished with six, and Michael Green III had three.
Bickerstaff's 13 rebounds led all players, and Brown reached a new career-best with his eight boards. The Dukes out-rebounded the Panthers 39-29.
The Dukes have clinched a double-bye into the Sun Belt Conference Championship Quarterfinals. The conference tournament begins next week in Pensacola.

What's Next:

The Dukes will close their regular season schedule with a game at Coastal Carolina on Friday before heading to Pensacola for the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament next week.