Dukes Pick Up Road Win at Old Dominion, 74-60

Wednesday, January 22

Norfolk, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

11-9,4-4Sun Belt

Old Dominion

8-12,4-4Sun Belt

James Madison

Old Dominion

1/22/2025 10:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. – Junior AJ Smith recorded a season-high 21 points as James Madison men's basketball picked up a road Sun Belt Conference win at Old Dominion, 74-60, on Wednesday night at Chartway Arena.

Smith was one of four JMU (11-9, 4-4 SBC) players to reach double figures, as Mark Freeman (16), Bryce Lindsay (15), and Eddie Ricks III (11) all scored 10 or more. The Dukes shot a robust 54 percent (25-of-46) from the floor while holding Old Dominion (8-12, 4-4 SBC) to 32.7 percent (18-of-55) field goals and 3-of-19 from three.

Along with his 21 points, Smith also corralled seven rebounds, tied for the team lead with Ricks III. As a team, JMU outrebounded ODU 34-27 and held the Monarchs to four assists and zero bench points.

Robert Davis Jr. paced Old Dominion with 23 points on 6-of-21 shooting as the Dukes held the Monarchs' leading scorer to 2-of-12 from the floor in the second half. Jaden Johnson (14) and Sean Durugordon (10) also scored in double figures for ODU.

How It Happened
First Half
James Madison 37, Old Dominion 29

ODU jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the opening minutes.
A pair of free throws from Smith would spark a 14-3 run to give the Dukes their first lead (18-17) at the 8:14 mark of the half.
The Monarchs took a 25-22 lead on a 3-pointer from Davis Jr., but JMU rattled off a 12-0 run to swing ahead 34-25. Lindsay capped off the run with an and-one finish in transition.
Smith then knocked down just the second triple of the half for the Dukes to push the lead to 10 (37-27) before ODU closed the half with a jumper to make it 37-29 at the break. JMU closed the half shooting 5-6 from the field, while ODU shot 1-7
JMU closed the half shooting 5-of-6 from the field, while ODU shot 1-of-7

Second Half
James Madison 74, Old Dominion 60

Leading by five (37-32), JMU used its second 10-0 run of the day to go ahead 47-32 with 15:58 left.

ODU scored 10 of 14 points to trim the JMU lead to nine (51-42) at the 10:58 mark, but five points from Noah Williams pushed the lead back to 58-44.
The Monarchs then made it a 58-50 game with 6:10 left, but the Dukes responded by quickly pushing the lead back to 14 with just over four minutes to go and would lead by as many as 15 the rest of the way.

Game Notes

JMU extends its lead in this year's TowneBank Royal Rivalry Challenge to 5-3 over Old Dominion. JMU has now won all 11 meetings in men's and women's basketball since the two joined the Sun Belt in 2022.
The Dukes have now won eight straight games over ODU, its last loss coming in Nov. 2019.
JMU has also won five straight road games inside Chartway Arena – its last loss on Dec. 1, 2018 (67-42).
The Dukes picked up their first true road win of the season, improving to 1-6.
JMU is now 9-1 this season when scoring more than 70 points.
Lindsay made his first career start, finishing 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting. He has now scored in double figures in three straight games and is averaging 12.1 points this season.
AJ Smith's 21 points marked the sixth 20-point game of his career and first in a JMU uniform.
The Dukes recorded two runs of 10-0 or more, improving to 6-1 in games when recording a 10-0 run.