CONWAY, S.C. – Mark Freeman scored the last eight points for James Madison men’s basketball as the Dukes overcame a double-digit deficit against Coastal Carolina to win 74-73 on Saturday afternoon at HTC Arena.
JMU (17-10, 10-4 SBC) trailed Coastal Carolina (8-19, 1-13 SBC) by 10 with 12 minutes left but used a 10-0 run to take a 60-58 lead and the eight straight from Freeman at the end was enough to fight off the Chanticleers for its seventh consecutive Sun Belt win.
It was once again the backcourt for the Dukes that led the charge, as the trio of Freeman (23), Xavier Brown (18), and Bryce Lindsay (16) combined for 57 of JMU’s 74 points. Elijah Hutchins-Everett tied a season-high 12 rebounds while also blocking three shots along with Eddie Ricks III, who also had five points.
JMU turned Coastal Carolina over 11 times, scoring 20 points off the Chanticleers’ mistakes. For the Chanticleers, Josh Meo scored a career-high 20 points while finishing 7-of-10 from the floor.
How It Happened
First Half: Coastal Carolina 36, James Madison 33
- JMU started 2-of-6 from the floor as Coastal jumped out to a 9-5 lead at the 15:50 mark of the first.
- The Dukes then converted three straight field goal but trailed 17-11 as Coastal began 7-of-9 from the floor.
- A Lindsay triple made it 19-16 with just under 10 minutes to play, but the Chants went on a 16-8 run to lead 35-24 with 4:16 left.
- JMU then cut it to three, forcing Coastal to miss its final six field goals of the half to lead 36-33.
Second Half: James Madison 41, Coastal Carolina 37
- JMU kept chipping away at the deficit but found themselves down eight at 47-39 with 14:47 to play. The Chants then extended the lead to 10 again, at 53-43 with just over 12 minutes left in the half. Coastal opened the half making seven of their first nine shots again to keep JMU at a distance.
- The Dukes then went on a 17-5 run, capped by a Brown and-one on the fast break to give JMU its first lead of the contest at 60-58 with 6:08 to play.
- After Brown converted the free throw, the Chants responded with a 12-6 run and led 70-66 with just over a minute to play.
- The Dukes struck back right away with a Freeman triple, and made two more stops while converting free throws in the bonus to retake the lead for good and hang on for the win.
Game Notes
- JMU improved to 7-0 against Coastal Carolina and 4-7 in road games this season.
- The Dukes have won seven consecutive Sun Belt games and currently sit 0.5 games back of first-place Arkansas State in the league standings.
- JMU overcame an 11-point deficit, the third time this season the Dukes have trailed by more than 10 and won the game (Arkansas State, Old Dominion)
- The Dukes’ 10-0 run in the second half was JMU’s 13th double-digit run this season. JMU is now 7-1 in games where it records a 10-0 run.
- Hutchins-Everett’s 12 rebounds ties his season high and is the 11th game in his career with 10 or more rebounds.
- Justin Taylor played 16 minutes, the most for the junior since seeing 22 minutes of action against Midway on Dec. 29.
