Louisiana defeats James Madison in the last second
After winning both games against the Georgia State Panthers and the Georgia Southern Eagles last week, the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns carried that momentum into the Atlantic Center, where they walked out with a 64-61 victory over the James Madison Dukes in the last second.
With the score tied at 61 all, the ball was in Louisiana’s De’Vion Lavergne’s hands, and he missed a fading jumper from the right. The ball was grabbed by Dariyus Woodson for the offensive rebound, and he passed to Jaxon Olvera, who pump-faked, drove to the basket, and kicked it out to a wide-open Dorian Finister, who drained the game-winning triple, extending their win streak to a season-high three games.
The final sequence in a 64-61 win at JMU … huge rebound by Dariyus Woodson to set up Dorian Finister’s game-winner#GeauxCajuns pic.twitter.com/VltKCDvA4Q
— Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns® Men’s Basketball (@RaginCajunsMBB) February 5, 2026
The first half was a competitive back-and-forth game with neither team able to take a big lead. Louisiana led by seven at the 10:54 mark with a 19-12 lead, and that was their largest of the half. JMU fought back and went into the half up 32-29.
JMU started the second half slow, and Louisiana capitalized to take a 44-33 lead at the 14:15 mark. JMU fought back and took a 47-46 lead around the nine-minute mark. Louisiana responded with seven unanswered, and both teams continued trading baskets until the final buzzer.
The two things that hurt JMU in this one were free-throw shooting and giving up offensive rebounds. The Dukes shot 8-19 at the free-throw line, leaving up to 11 points off the board in a game where they only lost by three. They also gave up 14 offensive rebounds on the night. Five of those came in the final five minutes of the game, and the final offensive rebound led to the final shot.
“That’s unacceptable,” said Christian Brown. “That’s one of our non-negotiables, which is just rebounding, and they outworked us on the glass. I’m just going to keep it as simple as that. Not even down the stretch, it was just all game.”
Finister led Louisiana in scoring with 18, and Lavergne and Woodson both chipped in 14 apiece.
For James Madison, they were led by Cliff Davis with 12, and Kose Egbule dropped 10.
The Dukes played their second straight game without leading scorer Justin McBride, who warmed up before the game, attempting to give it a go. With him out, his presence was missed as there were several scoring droughts for JMU.
“He’s a guy that can go get a basket, he’s a guy that every team we played in this league has to scheme for because he can hurt you in so many ways,” said James Madison head coach Preston Spradlin. “Whether it’s his inside presence, his driving the ball, and his ability to shoot, so it changes things when you don’t have that guy that can just go get you a basket. You put yourself in position where you have to play almost a perfect game.”
While JMU was hopeful McBride would have been able to go, he is listed as questionable for their upcoming game.
The Ragin’ Cajuns continue to fight even during this difficult campaign. “I’m super proud of this team,” said Louisiana head coach Quannas White. “The injuries, all that we’ve been through, losing 11 straight games, this team is resilient, this is my favorite team that I’ve been a part of, and it’s because of everything that they have been through, and they just overcame it.”
Louisiana will look for its fourth straight win on Saturday when they host the Central Michigan Chippewas. JMU will welcome the Toledo Rockets into their building on Saturday.
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