Freidel’s Big Day Pushes JMU to Title Game with 73-68 Win over Texas State

Sunday, March 10

Pensacola, Fla.

8:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. CT)

James Madison University

30-3,15-3Sun Belt

Texas State

17-18,7-11Sun Belt

Texas St.

James Madison

Freidel’s Big Day Pushes JMU to Title Game with 73-68 Win over Texas State

3/10/2024 11:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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PENSACOLA, Fla. – Noah Freidel turned in his biggest performance of the season with 28 points to send No. 2 James Madison to the 2024 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Championship title game after holding off a feisty No. 11 Texas State, 73-68, in the semifinals on Sunday night at the Pensacola Bay Center.

The Dukes improve to 30-3 on the season and they advance to Monday's championship game at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) to face No. 4 Arkansas State. A-State (18-15) defeated top-seeded App State, 67-65, in the first semifinal. That game will be televised nationally on the ESPN Family of Networks.

JMU moves on to a conference title game for the first time since 2013, when it last won the league crown to advance to the NCAA Championship. It will be JMU's 11th all-time appearance in a title bout, going 4-6 in previous berths.

Freidel's 28 points were a season-high and JMU career-high, as he shot 7-of-15 from the floor and 5-of-11 from long range. He also sank all nine free throw attempts, including four in the waning moments to clinch the win.

Xavier Brown was the only other JMU player to record double-figure scoring in a highly-balanced attack, as he finished with 11 points on three first-half treys and a pair of clutch free throws in the final seconds. His three-point total tied his career high, and he also finished with three steals.

T.J. Bickerstaff turned in his 14th game in double-digit rebounding, finishing with a game-high 11, while adding seven points. Terrence Edwards Jr. also added eight points and a game-best six assists.

Texas State was led by Brandon Love, who scored 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting, while Dontae Horne had a big second half to end with 15 points. Davion Sykes added 11 in the Bobcat loss.

JMU led by as many 10 points in the second half, but Texas State utilized a 10-0 run to tie the game with 8:52 to play. JMU built its lead back to as much as seven but would need high accuracy on the free throw line, as it drained its final seven tries in the final 59 seconds.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half – JMU 37, Texas State 29

Texas State surged in front in the opening moments, scoring three straight baskets to nab a 6-0 lead in the first 90 seconds.
JMU drew closer, and trailing 12-9, a triple from Michael Green III sparked a 17-3 run over a span of 4:19. The Dukes hit five free throws and a pair of threes, one by Brown, as JMU took a 26-15 lead with 6:55 to play in the half.
Up 29-22, JMU took its largest lead of the half with an 8-0 run, capped off by a third trey from Brown, making it 37-22 with 1:54 to go in the first.
The Bobcats responded with a 7-0 run in the final 1:38 to get within eight heading into the locker room.
Brown led all players with nine points in the first half, going three-of-three from beyond the arc. He also had three steals, while Freidel added eight points.
JMU went 5-of-10 as a team from long range and shot 44.4 percent (12/27 FG) at the intermission.
Texas State converted 48 percent (12/25 FG) of its shots in the first and was paced by Love's eight points.

Second Half – JMU 73, Texas State 68

Texas State's scoring run extended to a 12-0 spurt early in the second half, with Love accounted for all five points, to bring the Bobcats within 37-34 just over a minute in.
Freidel began to heat up for JMU, scoring eight of the game's next 10 points, which included hitting a pair of threes to put the Dukes' advantage back to nine, at 45-36 with 15:15 to go.
JMU led 55-45 before Texas State scored 10 straight in a span of 2:23 to tie the game at 55 apiece. Horne led the surge, scoring six of those points, including a layup with 8:52 to play.
The Dukes snapped the streak with 6:46 to play on an Edwards Jr. jumper in the lane, making it 57-55. Freidel answered that with a massive three from the wing, his fifth of the contest, to give JMU a 60-55 advantage with 4:58 to go.
Joshua O'Garro slashed to the hoop for a driving layup, pulling Texas State to within 60-57 heading to the final media timeout.
Out of the media, Bickerstaff cleaned up the glass with a putback to give JMU a 62-57 lead, and after a TXST turnover, Julian Wooden slammed it home for a seven-point lead with 2:55 remaining.
The Bobcats trimmed the lead to just three, at 65-62, on a Horne layup with 48 seconds remaining, but Edwards Jr. drove to the hoop for two on the ensuing possession for a 67-62 lead.
Texas State got an old-fashioned three-point play from Horne with 24.8 to go, leaving the score at 67-65 in favor of JMU. Freidel sank both free throws moments later to double the lead to 69-65.
JMU would convert on all six free throws over the final 21 seconds, and Freidel capped off the win with a block on the game's final shot.

GAME NOTES

JMU shot 39.7 percent (23/58 FG) from the floor, while Texas State was a tad better, at 48.1 percent (26/54 FG).
The Dukes made 10 threes in a postseason for just the fourth time in program history, making 40 percent (10/25 3PT) of their tries. TXST was limited to just 25 percent (3/12 3PT) from long range.
JMU had a big advantage on the boards, out-rebounding the Bobcats 39-29, including 16-7 on the offensive glass.
Free throws would be crucial in the final moments, and JMU finished 70.8 percent (17/24) from the line, and Texas State was at 72.2 percent (13/18).
JMU had a 10-4 scoring advantage in transition, while TXST had leads in paint scoring (38-26), points off turnovers (17-12) and bench points (29-15).
Freidel scored in double figures for the 20th time this season and hit at least four treys in a game for the eighth time in 2023-24.
JMU improved to 11-5 in conference semifinals all-time, and Monday it will seek its fifth conference tournament crown.
JMU last won the conference championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament in 2013.