Davis game winner powers James Madison past Georgia State

With 11 seconds left in the game, James Madison’s Cliff Davis caught the ball above the three-point line with five seconds left on the shot clock and had to make a quick decision. He put his head down, drove to the basket, and kissed the ball off the glass for the layup. Georgia State quickly inbounded the ball to Micah Tucker, who got up the court and attempted an off-balance runner that missed, and the James Madison Dukes escaped with the 81-79 victory in overtime over the Georgia State Panthers.

Cliff “Cliff Davis” Davis 🆒#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/01nVRfdHEH

— JMU Men’s Basketball (@JMUMBasketball) February 13, 2026

The first half was a tightly contested game, with 10 lead changes and seven ties. The Dukes were able to create a little separation going into the half, ending the half on a 9-0 run to take a 41-33 halftime lead. That momentum initially carried over into the second half, where in the first four minutes JMU increased their lead to 52-39 after a steal and score by Davis, resulting in Georgia State taking a timeout.

Georgia State wouldn’t lie down though, and came out of the timeout a different team, as they went on a 19-4 run after back-to-back layups by Jelani Hamilton to give them a 58-56 lead with 8:51 remaining.

The game continued to be nip and tuck for the next several minutes, but JMU thought they may have delivered the final blow in regulation when Justin McBride got the hoop and harm drawing an and one with two minutes to go and giving JMU a 70-66 lead.

But Micah Tucker would have several responses for Georgia State, first a layup with 1:45 left, and ending it with a fadeaway jumper from the right baseline with 16 seconds left to tie it up at 70.

Mr. Make it Happen 😎

Micah Tucker ties the game late in the half to Ultimately take the contest into overtime. #LightItBlue | #MORE pic.twitter.com/UMxcfoADwS

— GSU Men’s Basketball (@GSU_MBasketball) February 13, 2026

JMU did have an attempt to win it, but McBride missed the layup, and this one went an extra five minutes.

The overtime period started with Davis making a three-pointer, and then almost 30 seconds later, Hamilton responded with a three of his own. After a layup by Kose Egbule, two free throws by Davis, and then a free throw by McBride, JMU took a 78-73 lead with 1:12 left in the OT period. But like the end of regulation, Georgia State would continue to fight and have responses.

After McBride missed the second free throw, Georgia State got the ball up quickly, and Malachi Brown found Hamilton for the triple to bring it to within two with still 1:03 left. Egbule then had a pair of free throw attempts that he split, and Georgia State responded again with Hamilton making another three to tie it up at 79. Hamilton scored all nine of Georgia State’s points in overtime.

Davis responded with a layup, and Tucker missed his attempt at the end, resulting in JMU squeaking this one out.

Davis finished with 26 on the night and made six triples on the evening. With those six triples that put him on 82 three-pointers for the season, getting him closer to his target goal of 100 that he set before the season. McBride looked like his normal self again with 22 points on 10-18 from the field and nine rebounds. Gabe Newhof had 11 points and eight rebounds. Egbule had eight points and seven assists and was a big unsung hero for them, according to head coach Preston Spradlin.

“I thought he had a great floor game in 32 minutes. Cliff didn’t score 27 points, Gabe’s not getting 11, and Justin’s not getting 22 unless somebody’s delivering the ball and making those plays.”

For the Panthers, they got big-time performances out of Hamilton and Tucker. Hamilton led all scorers in the game with 28 points and knocked down four three-pointers. Tucker chipped in with 20. The two of them combined for 48 of the team’s 79 points and were the only players for Georgia State that scored over double digits in this one.

JMU will look towards its third straight victory on Saturday as they welcome the Appalachian State Mountaineers (18-9, 10-4 Sun Belt) to town, looking for some vengeance after losing to them last month.

Georgia State will attempt to snap a five-game losing streak when they travel to Old Dominion on Saturday.