The Dukes fall to South Alabama in the Sun Belt Semis

PENSACOLA, Fla. – James Madison men’s basketball Sun Belt Tournament play ended Sunday night, dropping a 75-66 decision to eighth-ranked South Alabama at the Pensacola Bay Center.

The Dukes (22-11) battled throughout and had two possessions several times in the second half, but couldn’t get over the hump as the USA (19-15) held them to no 3-pointers after the break and 2-for-16. (12.5%) clip from outside in the evening.

Get ready ahead Edit Offurum went 9-15 from the field and had 20 points and seven rebounds to lead the Dukes offense and record his best performance in a JMU uniform.

A college friend Takal Molson and a sophomore Terrence Edwards joined Offurum in double figures – Molson had 14 points and nine boards, while Edwards had 13 points.

On the day, the Dukes shot just 25-63 (39.7%) from the field, while USA hit 52.7% (29-55) and shot 44.4% (8-18) from deep.

USA point guard Isaiah Moore paced the Jaguars’ four double-digit scorers with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists.

HOW DID IT HAPPEN
The first half

South Alabama started out on fire, hitting the first five shots as the Jaguars scored the first 10 points of the contest before JMU got on the board. However, the Dukes quickly pulled back, using an immediate 10-2 run to pull within two points.

The stretch continued with runs as USA went up by 11 with 6:19 to play in the half, but the Dukes answered again with an 11-3 run that cut the lead to 30-27 with 2:10 to go. Jaguars went to the locker room with a score of 38-31.

Second half

The Dukes cut the USA lead to three several times early in the second half with six straight points, but that would be the closest they would get as South Alabama answered every JMU push.

The Jaguars would push the lead to as many as 12 with 5:04 left, but JMU would fight back again to cut the lead to 67-62 with 1:34 left. However, on the next possession, the USA got a three-pointer from Owen White, putting the contest out of reach for the final minute.

QUICK PARTS

– The Dukes’ seven turnovers were the fewest in a game this season.
– JMU collected five blocks, marking its eighth consecutive game with at least three blocks.
– The Dukes had 40 rebounds on the night to USA’s 32, giving them four straight games of 40 or more for the first time since 2019.