Balanced Performance Powers Dukes Past FAU

Sunday, November 28

Boca Raton, FL

2 p.m.

James Madison University

6-2,0-0CAA

Florida Atlantic

-34,00 CUSA

James Madison

Fla. Atlantic

11/28/2021 6:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - James Madison continued its success in close games on Sunday afternoon, battling its way to a 69-65 road victory over Florida Atlantic to close out a four-game non-conference road swing at FAU Arena.

The Dukes (6-2) shot well throughout the contest, hitting at a 49.1% (26-53) clip on the day, including a 14-of-23 (60.9%) rate in the opening half. FAU shot nearly as well from the floor, but made just 11 of 30 three-pointers (36.7%) in the performance.

Graduate student Charles Falden led the way for the Dukes in a well-balanced scoring effort across the roster, racking up 17 points as all 10 JMU players who saw court time made at least one field goal and grabbed at least two rebounds on the day.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The Dukes scored consistently in the early minutes, taking leads of 15-7 and 19-10 prior to the under-8 media time out in the opening half. After JMU took a 21-12 lead with 9:23 to play in the half, FAU responded with back-to-back three-pointers to trim the lead to three.

JMU built the lead back up to 31-22 with 3:12 left, but again the Owls battled back with hot shooting, scoring eight straight points before Falden buried a three-pointer to halt the run. The Dukes would go into the half with a 34-31 advantage.

Second Half
FAU would take its first lead of the game at 16:15 with a three-pointer that gave the Owls a 41-39 lead. After an exchange of baskets, the Dukes would rip off their own run, scoring 10 straight points to start a 16-2 run that would give them a 57-45 lead with 8:03 to play.

Again, the Owls shot their way back into things, drilling a trio of three-pointers in the span of one minute as they cut the advantage to 57-56 with 5:57 to play, the closest they would get for the remainder of the contest.

The Dukes would clamp down on defense, however, yielding just three field goals and a pair of free throws over the final six minutes. FAU would close to within two on a pair of occasions, but JMU went 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 20 seconds to close out the action.

QUICK HITS
- Redshirt freshman Tyree Ihenacho made his JMU debut on Sunday after sitting out the first seven games due to injury, tallying two points, two rebounds, two assists and a block in 19 minutes.
- The Dukes have started the season 6-2 for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign.
- Sunday's victory marked the Dukes' first win of the year in which they were outrebounded.
- Falden's scoring performance was his team-best sixth double-digit scoring day of the season and marked the sixth different player to lead JMU in the year's first eight games.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will at last return home this week for a three-game homestand, beginning with a 7 p.m. matchup against Eastern Mennonite on Thursday, Dec. 2. The game will continue the intracity series restarted during the 2015-16 season and will be broadcast at FloHoops.com.