Dukes Roll Past Tribe at Home

Saturday, February 12

Harrisonburg, Va.

4 p.m.

James Madison University

14-10,5-8CAA

William & Mary

5-21,4-9CAA

William & Mary

James Madison

2/12/2022 8:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. - James Madison stormed out to a 21-point lead in the first half on Saturday evening, riding a strong defensive performance to a 69-55 win over William & Mary in men's basketball action at the Atlantic Union Bank Center.

The Dukes (14-10, 5-8) erupted for 50 points in the first half, hitting 19 of 33 shots (57.6%) before the break, then holding up on the defensive side as the Tribe (5-21, 4-9) tried to chip away in the second half.

Redshirt junior Vado Morse tallied 15 points to lead a balanced scoring effort that saw nine Dukes hit at least one shot from the field. Redshirt freshman Justin Amadi added 13 points and six rebounds, while graduate student Alonzo Sule picked up 11 points and seven boards.

Redshirt freshman Tyree Ihenacho scored just two points, but racked up eight assists, five rebounds and four steals with just one turnover across 32 minutes.

William & Mary forward Ben Wight tallied 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Tribe.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
William & Mary took the early advantage, taking an early 10-4 lead before the Dukes used a 14-2 run and holding W&M without a field goal for 6:31 to go back on top, 18-12.

After the Tribe broke the slide with a layup, JMU ripped off the next 16 straight points to storm out to a 34-14 advantage with 5:35 to play in the half. The Dukes would maintain the pace, taking a 50-29 lead into the break.

Second Half
The second half saw a much slower pace, with W&M cutting into the lead with runs of 6-0 and 9-0 to get as close as 62-51 with 7:12 to play.

Redshirt sophomore Julien Wooden silenced the last run with a three-pointer to kickstart seven straight JMU points that pushed the lead back to 69-51 and put things out of reach as the Dukes yielded just one made field goal across the final seven minutes.

QUICK HITS
- The Dukes' 50-point first half marked the first time that JMU scored 50 points before halftime against a Division I team since a 111-77 win over Liberty on Dec. 2, 1998.
- With his 15 points on Saturday, Morse has scored at least 15 in nine straight games and 12 of his last 13 contests.
- Wooden hit three three-pointers on the evening, matching the career high he set on Thursday night.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will hit the road for their third game in five days, traveling to Delaware for a 7 p.m. matchup on Monday, Feb. 14. On Saturday, the Blue Hens fell 80-66 to Hofstra to fall to 16-9 (7-5) on the season.