Edwards Jr. Reaches 1,000 Career Points, #20 Dukes Move to 12-0

Friday, December 22

Baltimore, Md.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

12-0

Morgan State

4-10

James Madison

Morgan State

Edwards Jr. Reaches 1,000 Career Points, #20 Dukes Move to 12-0

12/22/2023 4:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BALTIMORE – Terrence Edwards Jr., surpassed 1,000 career points and the No. 20 James Madison men's basketball team fought off a second-half rally from Morgan State, improving to 12-0 with an 89-75 win on Friday afternoon at Hill Field House.

After JMU led by 12 at halftime (47-35), a 12-2 run from Morgan State out of the break cut the Dukes' lead to 49-47. The score remained even until the 12-minute mark, but Raekwon Horton scored five straight points on a layup and three-pointer to open the lead back up for JMU, pulling away for its 12th consecutive victory, which ties a program record.

Edwards Jr. scored a game-high 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field and also hit eight free throws. Horton came off the bench for a career-high 16 points, while Julien Wooden (12) and T.J. Bickerstaff (10) joined him in double-figures. JMU finished shooting 44.6 percent from the field and made nine triples (9-for-30).

Despite shooting 47.7 percent from the field, the Dukes held Morgan State to 21.4 percent (3-of-14) from behind the arc. JMU was also able to outrebound the Bears 40-33, led by Edwards Jr. (9) and T.J. Bickerstaff (7).

Will Thomas scored 20 points to pace MSU, while Kamron Hobbs added 16 points and Allen Udemadu corralled eight boards.

How It Happened
First Half

Morgan State got on the board first, but Bickerstaff responded with a jumper and then two foul shots to put JMU up 4-2.
The Bears used five different scorers and held a slim 10-8 lead at the first media timeout.
After a back-and-forth first 10 minutes, Horton nailed a triple which gave JMU an 18-16 lead at the under-12 timeout.
After 11 lead changes in the first 11 minutes of play, Wooden hit back-to-back 3-pointers to kick off a 12-0 run for the Dukes. JMU recorded two steals and an Edwards Jr. layup gave JMU a nine-point lead, its largest lead of the game to that point (28-19).
Edwards Jr. scored 10 points in five minutes, helping the Dukes gain a 40-26 advantage with 3:40 to go in the first half.
Morgan State scored six straight to cut the lead to eight (40-32), but a layup from Michael Green III and a triple from Horton gave the Dukes a 45-35 lead at the break,
Going into the locker room, JMU was shooting nearly 50 percent from the field (15-for-31) and 92 percent from the charity stripe (11-for12). Meanwhile, the Bears were just 1-for-8 from behind the arc.

Second Half

Morgan State used a 12-2 run on 5-for-6 shooting to cut the JMU lead to two (49-47), but Edwards Jr. got a basket to go and kept the Dukes in front 51-47 with 15:13 left in the second half.
JMU pushed the lead to 56-49, but the Bears rattled off eight straight points to pull ahead 58-56.
With the score tied at 60, Horton made a 3-pointer and a dunk in transition to extend the Dukes' lead to five (65-60). After a Morgan State bucket, Edwards Jr. pushed the JMU lead back up to five (67-62) with 8:55 remaining.
The Dukes had an answer for each Bears' bucket, as Horton notched his 16th point to put JMU ahead 76-68.
Noah Freidel hit a three-pointer from the corner to make it 81-70, and the Dukes were able to hold on for the 14-point victory.

Game Notes

With the win, Head Coach Mark Byington picked up the 200th of his coaching career. In his four seasons at JMU, Byington holds a 62-32 (.660) record.
Terrence Edwards Jr. reached the 1,000-point milestone in the second half. Through 12 games, the redshirt junior and preseason Sun Belt Player of The Year is averaging
JMU (12-0) is one of three unbeaten teams in Division I, joining No.3 Houston and No. 25 Ole Miss after No. 7 Oklahoma, previously unbeaten, dropped a contest to No.11 North Carolina.
The Dukes have five true road wins this season, tying them with Princeton and Western Carolina for the most true road wins in DI this season.

Up Next
The No.20 Dukes will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 30, for the Sun Belt Conference opener vs. Texas State. Tipoff from the Atlantic Union Bank Center is slated for 2 p.m., with the game streamed on ESPN+. Dave Riggert will provide radio coverage through the JMU Radio Network 92.1 FM/550 AM and the Varsity Network App.