Dukes Use Dominant Defense to Take Road Win at Arkansas State

Wednesday, February 7

Jonesboro, Ark.

8 p.m.

James Madison University

21-3,9-3Sun Belt

Arkansas State

10-14,6-6Sun Belt

James Madison

Arkansas St.

Dukes Use Dominant Defense to Take Road Win at Arkansas State

2/7/2024 10:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

JONESBORO, Ark. – Noah Freidel's second double-double of the season helped the James Madison (21-3, 9-3 SBC) men's basketball team come away with a 77-73 Sun Belt Conference win on the road over Arkansas State (10-14, 6-6 SBC) at the First National Bank Arena on Wednesday evening.

The Dukes led nearly wire-to-wire, using a strong defensive stand to hold the Red Wolves to shoot just 18.5 percent (5-27) in the opening 20 minutes of play.

Freidel finished with a game-high 19 points while shooting 50 percent from the field (6-12). He also led the team with 10 rebounds. Terrence Edwards Jr. added 14 points and was the only other Duke to reach double figures in a well-balanced team effort.

Caleb Fields scored 12 of his team-high 15 points in the second half for Arkansas State. The Red Wolves shot 57 percent as a team in the second half, while battling to cut that deficit to four with seventeen seconds remaining, but were unable to complete the comeback on their home court.

James Madison now holds the second position in the Sun Belt Conference standings (9-3 SBC), just one game back from App State and Troy. The win also ties the 2023-2024 Dukes for the third-most wins in program history (21).

How It Happened
1^st Half

Julien Wooden got the Dukes on the board first, while A-State missed their first three shots of the game.
The Red Wolves connected on a 3-pointer from the corner to take its first - and only - lead of the game. This was also the only shot they would hit from the field in the first 10 minutes of action.
The Dukes regained the lead as Wooden scored the team's first four points of the game. They would keep that lead for the remaining 38 minutes of play.
Another 7-0 run helped the Dukes build a 16-5 lead halfway through the first half.
With T.J. Bickerstaff in early foul trouble, freshman Jaylen Carey provided solid minutes off the bench and grabbed the 100^th rebound of his career.
JMU held the Red Wolves to shoot just 1-16 (.063) through the first 10 minutes.
Terrence Edwards Jr. picked-off a pass for his 100^th career steal and finished on the other end to put JMU up 22-10, forcing the Red Wolves to call timeout.
A-State hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to go on a 6-0 run and bring the game to within seven (27-20).
Wooden connected on a triple, and then Noah Freidel hit his third 3-pointer to close out the scoring in the half.
The Dukes led 35-22 entering halftime, while holding the Red Wolves to shoot just 18.5 percent from the field.

2^nd Half

Both teams hit 10 of their first 19 shots in the second half (.526).
Raekwon Horton scored five-straight points for the Dukes, which included a 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down, and a put-back layup.
This sequence helped the Dukes build a 16-point advantage (57-41), their largest lead of the game, with 10 minutes remaining.
Arkansas State went on a hot streak, hitting four consecutive shots and making 5-of-7 from the field in a three-minute stretch. JMU had an answer on the other end each time, preventing the Red Wolves from gaining any ground.
A-State trailed by as much as 13 points with just two minutes remaining but continued to battle, forcing the Dukes to secure the win at the free-throw line in crunch time.
The Red Wolves narrowed the deficit to four points, but Xavier Brown, Terrence Edwards Jr. and Noah Freidel collectively made eight of the team's last 10 shots from the charity stripe to seal the road victory.

OTHER NOTES

With Julien Wooden giving the Dukes a 2-0 lead in the first half, it was the first time JMU scored the opening basket of a game since it played Southern Miss on January 6, 2024 (10 games ago). Wooden finished with two rebounds, and now has 397 in his career.
Heading into the final minute of play, JMU had made just two trips to the free throw line in the entire game, going 3-for-4. Meanwhile, the Red Wolves had made 12 of 17 from the charity stripe to that point.
The Dukes dominated the game in the paint, 42-30.
The trio of Julien Wooden, Raekwon Horton, and Jaylen Carey combined for 26 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists.
Xavier Brown led the team with five assists. He, T.J. Bickerstaff, Noah Freidel, and Jaylen Carey each had two steals.
Michael Green III had six points, two assists, and two rebounds in 15 minutes of action. He has 493 assists in his career, which ranks among the top 100 across active players in the country.
Despite starting the game shooting 18.5 percent from the field (5-27), Arkansas State was able to finish the game over 40 percent (25-62).
After reaching 20 or more wins in a season for the 16th time in program history, this is now just the 10^th time JMU has finished with at least 21 wins. Seven times the program finished with 21. Last season they finished with 22, and in 1981-82 Lou Campanelli led the team to a 24-win season. This is the quickest a JMU team has reached 21 wins.
Bryant Randleman finished with four points. He now has 694 points in his career.
This win gives James Madison its third win over Arkansas State (3-0).
Before Wednesday's game, these teams had not met in over 29 years. The Dukes have won the last two games of this matchup on the road.

What's Next

The Dukes host Akron on Saturday, February 10th in Harrisonburg. The game was elevated to ESPN2, marking the second time a JMU men's basketball game is broadcast nationally this season. Tip-off for the game is now set for 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT.