Men's Hoops Battles to Win at College of Charleston

Thursday, February 17

Charleston, S.C.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

15-11,6-9CAA

College of Charleston

14-11,6-7CAA

James Madison

Col. of Charleston

2/17/2022 10:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

CHARLESTON, S.C. - James Madison produced one of its strongest defensive efforts of the season and saw four players score in double figures on Thursday night, picking up a hard-fought 71-63 win at College of Charleston in men's basketball action at TD Arena.

The Dukes (15-11, 6-9) trailed for just 17 seconds of action, closing with efficiency and holding Charleston (14-11, 6-7) to 11 straight misses down the stretch as JMU fought its way to a victory.

Redshirt freshman Terrence Edwards had one of his best games at JMU, racking up a career-high 18 points on 8-10 shooting and making three straight tough jumpers down the stretch as the Dukes pulled away late. Edwards also added three of the Dukes' five steals and a block for good measure.

Graduate student Alonzo Sule was also crucial for JMU, adding 15 points on 7-11 shooting, while redshirt junior Vado Morse scored 15 points, giving him 11 straight games reaching that number. Redshirt freshman Justin Amadi picked up 10 points and seven boards as well.

Charleston guard Dimitrius Underwood led the Cougars with 14 points and 12 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Charleston scored the first points of the game, but back-to-back three-pointers from Morse immediately gave JMU a lead they wouldn't relinquish until midway through the second half.

The Dukes were never able to stretch the lead past seven in the opening half, but were able to respond each time the Cougars cut the deficit to as few as two.

Second Half
The Dukes opened the half with a 7-3 run that quickly pushed the lead to 10 with 17:49 left, but that would be its biggest advantage of the evening. Eventually, the Cougars used a 6-0 run to tie things at 50-50 with 8:54 on the clock.

Despite three more ties on ensuing possessions, the Dukes would miss just one field goal the rest of the way, going 7-8 from the field and 7-9 from the foul line while holding Charleston to just two made shots on its last 15 field goal attempts.

QUICK HITS
- Redshirt freshman Tyree Ihenacho continued to stuff the stat sheet, matching his career high with eight assists and pulling down seven boards.
- The win gave the Dukes their first season sweep over College of Charleston since the 2014-15 season.
- Freshman Devon Savage provided good minutes for JMU, pulling down a career-high five rebounds, including four offensive boards.
- Graduate student Charles Falden scored just four points on the night, but all four were free throws in the final 30 seconds and the veteran grabbed a career-high nine rebounds.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will cap off their southern swing on Saturday night, traveling to UNCW for a matchup against the first-place Seahawks at 7 p.m. On Thursday night, Towson trounced UNCW in a 79-55 win to drop the Seahawks to 18-8 (12-3) this season.