Coastal Carolina Defeats James Madison at the Last Second in Regular Season Finale
With 13 seconds left, Coastal Carolina’s Joshua Beadle got the switch he wanted, and from there, he knew it was his opportunity to decide the game. After some crossovers, Beadle got to his spot in the midrange, stepped back and drilled the jumper with 0.9 seconds left, and gave the Chanticleers a 69-68 victory over the James Madison Dukes.
Got it done 👌 pic.twitter.com/Nv0xhb4uzO
— Coastal Men’s Basketball (@CoastalMBB) February 28, 2026
This is the first time in the history of Coastal Carolina’s program that they defeated James Madison, having lost the previous eight encounters.
This loss snapped James Madisons six game winning streak, which was their longest of the season.
Just like a week and a half ago, the last time these two teams faced each other, this was a tight back-and-forth game throughout. The first half saw six lead changes, four ties, and the largest lead was five. JMU led at the half, 33-31, even though they were only shooting 35.3% from the field.
The second half remained the same way for the most part, with James Madison taking a 42-35 lead with 16:02 left. Coastal Carolina responded strongly with a 15-2 run on a layup by Beadle before a timeout. JMU scored the next six points over two minutes to tie it up.
The next eight minutes were a fun duel, with a Gabe Newhof layup giving JMU the 68-67 lead. Coastal Carolina took a quick three, but Rasheed Jones was off the mark. Cliff Davis missed a three-pointer that was touched last by JMU. They challenged the call, but the ruling was upheld.
After that, Beadle got the matchup he wanted and got to the spot he wanted and drilled the shot, giving Coastal Carolina there first ever victory over James Madison.
Beadle ended the game with 29 points on 11 for 21 from the field. The game winner was good revenge for Beadle, as he missed the two free throws at the end of the game the last time Coastal Carolina and JMU faced each other. Beadle had success in the two matchups against James Madison this season, averaging 30 points in those games and shooting 55% from the field.
But unlike the game on Feb 18, he got some much-needed help from. The help this time around came from AJ Dancler, who scored 20.
James Madison was led by Davis with 25, who continued his excellent end to the regular season, his fifth time in the last six games hitting the 20-point mark, and three of those games going for 25. Davis averaged 22.5 points over the six-game stretch, shooting 47.3% from the field and 43.8% from deep.
The biggest issue for JMU on the night was the free-throw shooting, going just 14-21 from the line, while Coastal Carolina was 13-15.
Coastal Carolina ends the regular season 19-12 and 11-7 against the Sun Belt. This was Coastal Carolina’s second-best season since they joined the Sun Belt back in 2016-17, their best season was back in the shortened 2020-21 season. They did set a record of 11 in conference wins, the most since joining the conference.
This was their third straight win as they built some momentum heading into tournament play next week in Pensacola, Florida.
James Madison ends the season 17-14 and 9-9 against the Sun Belt.
The next time these teams play will be in the Sun Belt tournament, which begins on March 3.
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