Late Spurt Pushes Dukes Past Trojans, 64-61

Wednesday, February 5

Harrisonburg, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

15-9,8-4Sun Belt

Troy

15-8,8-4Sun Belt

Troy

James Madison

2/5/2025 10:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Down 61-59 with 1:18 to play, James Madison scored the final five points to take down Troy, 64-61, and win its fifth game in a row and move into a tie for second in the Sun Belt on Wednesday night inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center.

Mark Freeman hit a free throw to bring the Dukes within one (61-60) and gave JMU (15-9, 8-4 SBC) the lead with a layup with 29 seconds left before Xavier Brown drew a charge on the defensive end and iced the game with a pair of free throws. Freeman finished with 13 points off the bench, while Brown tallied 12 points and a pair of rebounds.

Bryce Lindsay and Elijah Hutchins-Everett paced the Dukes with 14 points apiece and Eddie Ricks III led JMU with six rebounds. The Dukes shot 21-of-48 (.438) from the field and made eight threes, paced by four from Lindsay – his ninth game with four or more this season. Hutchins-Everett knocked down 7-of-8 shots from the charity stripe and finished 3-of-3 from the field.

Troy (15-8, 8-4 SBC) outrebounded JMU 35-28 which included 16 offensive rebounds, but only finished with nine second-chance points and turned the ball over 13 times. Tayton Conerway led the Trojans with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting before fouling out with 54 seconds to play.

How It Happened
First Half: James Madison 32, Troy 28

It was a defensive battle early, as Freeman tied the game at six with 13:30 on a three-pointer.
The lead exchanged hands multiple times until Will Lovings-Watts gave the Dukes a three-point lead (24-21) on an and-one with 4:08 remaining.
After staying close with the Trojans, the Dukes extended their lead into the half with a three-pointer by Hutchins-Everett and a jumper by Freeman, giving JMU their largest lead, at 32-28.

Second Half: James Madison 64, Troy 61

A Lindsay three-pointer and a putback from Ricks III gave the Dukes a seven-point lead (37-30) at 17:36 on the clock.
JMU kept Troy at bay as Freeman extended the Dukes' lead to eight (51-43) on a layup with 9:34 left.
The Trojans would fight back and tie the game at 57-57 with 2:38 on a layup from Thomas Dowd. Troy then took a 61-59 lead on a jumper from Jackson Field with 1:18 left.
The Dukes would close the game on a 5-0 run to win their fifth straight.

Game Notes

James Madison is now 3-0 against Troy all time.
The Dukes improved to 11-2 at home this season and are now 20-5 (.800) against Sun Belt foes since joining the league in 2022-23.
Lindsay made four threes and is now fourth in the Sun Belt in made threes per game (2.7).
Hutchins-Everett finished with 14 points, his 19th game in double figures to lead all Dukes.
Despite allowing 16 offensive rebounds – a season-high – JMU is now 5-2 when getting outrebounded this season.
The Dukes held an advantage in fast-break points (13-2), steals (8-4), and bench points (19-10).