HARRISONBURG, Va. – Justin McBride and
Eli Wilborn hit three free throws in the final 20 seconds to propel James Madison men's basketball to a 73-71 win over Toledo on Saturday afternoon at the Atlantic Union Bank Center.
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JMU (12-13) led by as many as nine in the second half but saw Toledo (12-12) rally to take a 71-70 lead with 33 seconds left on a layup from Leroy Blyden Jr. However, McBride and Wilborn sank clutch free throws and got a defensive stop to give the Dukes the win.
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Cliff Davis led the Dukes with 18 points, while
Bradley Douglas notched 16 points while finishing 6-of-10 from the floor and 4-of-6 from deep.
Preston Fowler led JMU with nine rebounds – five offensive – and scored four points. In his return from injury, McBride notched eight points, including two free throws to give the Dukes the lead with 20 seconds remaining.
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JMU outrebounded Toledo 39-27 and finished with 29 bench points and 17 fast-break points.
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Blyden Jr. (24) and Sonny Wilson (20) combined for 44 points to lead Toledo in scoring. Overall, the Rockets shot 48.3 percent from the floor.
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How It Happened
First Half: James Madison 32, Toledo 32
- A second-chance layup from Eddie Ricks III gave the Dukes their first lead (11-10) at the 12:07 mark.
- After being tied 12-12, Toledo pulled ahead 20-17 after hitting three 3-pointers with 8:26 left. lead at the 8:26 mark.
- Both squads were neck and neck throughout the first half, with the lead changing hands six times before the break.
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Second Half: James Madison 73, Toledo 71
- The Dukes opened the half on a 13-4 run to grab a nine-point lead at the 13:33 mark, with seven of their points coming off turnovers.
- After JMU maintained its lead over the next 10 minutes, a pair of driving layups from Toledo allowed the Rockets to draw within a basket at the under-four media timeout.
- After taking a one-point lead with just over 30 seconds remaining, McBride and Wilborn capitalized on two trips to the charity stripe, converting on three of four free throws to grab the win.
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Game Notes
- JMU evened the all-time series with Toledo 1-1 and improved to 4-2 in MAC-SBC Challenge games (since 2023-24).
- Davis notched his eighth straight game in double figures. During that span, Davis is averaging 17.1 points.
- Douglas' four made triples marks his most since making four at Arkansas on Dec. 29.