James Madison Extends Win Streak to Six
After a rough first-half performance, the James Madison Dukes knew they needed to respond with a strong second-half performance, and that’s what they did with the 82-66 victory over the Georgia Southern Eagles. This victory marked the sixth straight victory for James Madison, and they’ve now moved up to eighth in the Sun Belt during this streak.
GOT AFTER ‘EM 🫡#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/yivMnfskBh
— JMU Men’s Basketball (@JMUMBasketball) February 26, 2026
JMU was down for most of the first half, trailing by as much as nine, and they struggled to take care of the ball with nine first-half turnovers, giving up 15 points off those turnovers. There were small stretches of poor defense for the Dukes in the first half. But even with those issues, they managed to take the lead heading into halftime after a steal and layup by Cliff Davis with two seconds left.
But the second half was complete domination by the Dukes, and they did it on both ends of the floor.
Aside from eight second-half turnovers, half of those coming within the first four minutes, the Dukes still managed to generate good offense. They scored 44 points in the half, making 12 of 22 field goals, shooting 5-10 from three, and 15-17 from the free-throw line.
The Dukes, who were led by the trio of Davis, Kose Egbule, and Preston Fowler, combined for 32 of the team’s 44 points.
Defensively, was where the Dukes were the most impressive in that half. The Eagles shot 8-28 from the floor and 1-15 from deep. From the 9:48 mark to the 1:05 mark, the Eagles didn’t make a single field goal, and that was where the Dukes were able to pull away, as they increased their lead from two to 14 over that stretch.
“Just locking in on the defensive end, we were lacking that,” said Eddie Ricks III when asked about what changed after going down nine in the first half. “Locking in on defense, staying in gaps, close outs, staying down on closeouts, that was a big emphasis for coach.”
Davis continues his hot streak for the Dukes, going for 24 and shooting 4-9 from deep. This is the fourth time in five games that Davis has eclipsed the 20-point mark. Fowler had his best game of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Postgame, Fowler credited his teammates for finding him in advantageous situations, making his job as a scorer easier. Egbule and Ricks III chipped in with 10 apiece.
For a Georgia Southern team that averages 80 points per game on the season, they couldn’t get any momentum going in the second half, and the energy of the Dukes’ defense was at the forefront. The Eagles have now lost three in a row and eight of their last 10.
Georgia Southern was led by Tyren Moore with 20 points and four assists on the night. Alden Applewhite scored 15 and grabbed seven rebounds.
This was a much different defensive showing for the Dukes this time around, as the first time they faced Georgia Southern, they gave up 96 points in an overtime loss.
The Dukes improve to 17-13 on the year and 9-8 against the Sun Belt. They will wrap up their regular season with Coastal Carolina coming to the Atlantic Union Bank Center for an 8 p.m. tip-off.
Georgia Southern drops to 15-15 and 7-10 against the Sun Belt. They will remain on the road and end their regular season in Marshall to face the Thundering Herd on Friday at 9.
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