James Madison Survives Late Scare vs. Toledo

After leading for most of the second half, the James Madison Dukes were on the verge of blowing a nine-point second-half lead to the Toledo Rockets, but JMU held on and squeaked out a 73-71 victory over Toledo in the MAC-SBC Challenge.

JMU snapped a two-game losing streak and improved its record to 12-13 on the season.

Gutsy win. #GoDukes pic.twitter.com/Rfom5sHk7U

— JMU Men’s Basketball (@JMUMBasketball) February 7, 2026

JMU took multiple nine-point leads in the second half, but were walked down late in the contest as they went through a drought offensively, not making a field goal in the last 3:16 of the game. But after surrendering the lead, Justin McBride got fouled on a shot attempt and went to the line and drilled two free throws.

The first half was a very competitive contest with neither team able to gain any real separation. The largest lead for either team was four, and it was all tied up at 32 going into the half.

The biggest key for JMU coming into this one was slowing down Toledo’s dynamic backcourt of Leroy Blyden Jr. and Sonny Wilson, and that’s what they were doing that half. Blyden only had seven and was 2-7 from the field. Wilson only scored six.

The second half was a different story as both were able to get loose and almost steal this one for Toledo. Blyden Jr. and Wilson scored 31 of the team’s 39 second half points.

JMU started the half taking control, outscoring Toledo 13-4 in the first five minutes and taking a 45-36 lead. The defensive energy they showed was noticed by head coach Preston Spradlin, something that was lacking in their previous game.

“Getting the deflection, just attacking the ball, fighting your own teammate to go get a defensive rebound instead of hoping that the guy goes and gets it,” Spradlin said. “That was the difference in the beginning of the second half.”

They would continue to lead for the next few minutes and were up 58-49 with 8:06 left. Within the next three minutes, Toledo was within two after back-to-back three-pointers and a pair of free throws by Wilson.

From there, Blyden started taking over as the freshman guard scored seven points and made a floating hook shot to give Toledo the 71-70 lead with 33 seconds left, their first lead since the 18:41 mark of that half.

After McBride made the free throws to give James Madison the lead back, Blyden Jr. had a chance to win it. Blyden was able to get the switch and have big man Christian Brown guard him. Blyden drove to the basket and attempted a similar shot to the one that gave them the lead, but missed and looked in the direction of the official, looking for the foul after there was some contact.

Eli Wilborn grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He split the pair of free throws to give JMU a two-point lead.

Down two, Toledo attempted a full-court pass that got tipped and ended up with Wilson, but he was unable to gain full control of the ball and couldn’t get a shot up, ending the game.

McBride returned to action after missing the two previous contests. He wasn’t his normal self as he was limping around throughout the game. He started well, but foul trouble kept him on the bench, and he struggled to regain rhythm. He only produced eight points on 3-9 from the field, and was marred by foul trouble with four fouls.

“Unfortunately, I got into foul trouble, just lost a little bit of wind out there, got to get my wind back,” McBride said afterwards.

Even though McBride wasn’t his normal self, the Dukes were able to rely on Cliff Davis and Bradley Douglas. Davis dropped 18, and Douglas came off the bench with 16 and four triples.

For Toledo, Blyden Jr. ended with 24 points while Wilson added 20. JMU will be back in action next Thursday when they welcome the Georgia State Panthers to Harrisonburg.