Men's Basketball Drops MAC-SBC Challenge Game at Toledo

Saturday, February 8

Toledo, Ohio

2 p.m.

James Madison University

15-10,8-4Sun Belt

Toledo

15-8,8-2MAC

James Madison

Toledo

Photo by: Jacob Tracy / Toledo Athletics

2/8/2025 4:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

TOLEDO, Ohio – James Madison men's basketball built an early 16-point lead but could not hang on as Toledo downed the Dukes, 72-69, on Saturday afternoon as part of the MAC-SBC Challenge at Savage Arena.

JMU (15-10) took a 67-63 lead with 5:34 left but would score just two points the rest of the way as Toledo (15-8) escaped with the win.

Mark Freeman led the Dukes with 23 points and a career-high five three-pointers. JMU, despite shooting 50.9 percent (27-of-53) from the floor and making 13 three-pointers, surrendered 14 offensive rebounds while the Rockets finished with a season-low three turnovers. Overall, Toledo outrebounded the Dukes 38-27.

Along with Freeman's 23 points, Bryce Lindsay recorded 12 points and a career-high six assists. Xavier Brown tallied 11 points, and AJ Smith led the Dukes with seven rebounds.

Sam Lewis led Toledo with 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting, while Sonny Wilson recorded 16 points, six rebounds, and a team-high four assists. Javan Simmons led the Rockets with eight rebounds.

How It Happened
First Half: James Madison 41, Toledo 38

The Dukes made 12 of their first 13 shots from the floor in the opening 10 minutes, capped off by a fast-break dunk from Ebenezer Dowuona to give JMU a 29-14 lead.
JMU led by as many as 16 (32-16), but the Rockets whittled the Dukes' lead to one (39-38) with 31 seconds left in the half.
Freeman finished at the rim to give JMU a 41-38 lead at the break.

Second Half: Toledo 34, James Madison 28

Toledo opened the second half on a 10-0 run to take a seven-point lead (48-41) with 15:35 left.
JMU battled back and regained a two-point advantage (59-57) on a corner three from Brown with just over eight minutes on the clock, but the Rockets answered with four straight to go ahead 61-59.
Lindsay hit his fourth three-pointer to give the Dukes a 67-63 lead with 5:34 left, but JMU would score just two points the rest of the way as Toledo escaped with a win.

Game Notes

JMU dropped to 0-1 against Toledo all time, losing its first game (3-1) in the MAC-SBC Challenge since being introduced in 2023-24.
The Dukes are now 15-10 all-time against current MAC schools.
JMU shot 17-of-25 (.680) from the field in the first half, a season-high for any half.
Freeman scored in double figures for the 17th time this season and 77th time in his career. It was also his fifth 20-point game at JMU and the 20th in his career.
Freeman also made a career-high five 3-pointers.
JMU finished the game 50.9 percent (27-53) from the floor, falling to 7-1 when shooting 50 percent or more this season.
Toledo improved to 6-0 this season when the game is decided by four points or less.