App State men’s basketball lost to James Madison University 69-58 Saturday in their second to last road game of the season.
The Dukes came out with an explosive 7-0 run to start the game, and graduate student guard Jalen Tot had to put out the fire with a 3-pointer. App State crawled back into it, grabbing their first lead of the afternoon on a floater from senior guard Alonzo Dodd.
The Dukes’ forward Justin McBride made just 2 field goals in the first meeting in January, but surpassed that in just eight minutes to give the Dukes the advantage.
Neither team was lighting it up from the field, until redshirt sophomore center Luke Wilson got on the board and the Black and Gold took a 10-9 lead.
James Madison scored 5 straight to go back up 4, but both teams were slowly going back and forth. Dodd scored on another floater after 2 free throws from Wilson to tie the game at 14.
Dodd and Wilson linked up on a lob, but the Dukes kept the scoring going, gaining a 24-16 advantage.
James Madison kept the stiff arm on the Black and Gold, their 29-22 lead was tied for the largest of the game. Dodd hit 2 more free throws at the end of the half, making the score 29-24.
Wilson became the first Mountaineer in double figures with a couple of free throws right out of halftime.
Sophomore forward Michael Marcus Jr. got on the board with a 3-pointer from the corner. James Madison quickly responded with a 3-pointer of their own to go up 5.
Dukes guard Cliff Davis connected on a 3-pointer, and they grabbed their largest lead of the night at 8. Wilson scored on consecutive possessions to cut it in half.
App State was trailing, but Wilson was having one of his strongest games of the season, with 17 points and 12 rebounds with 14 minutes left.
James Madison’s lead expanded to 16, the largest of the game.
Tot hit a 3-pointer, and the Mountaineers finally stopped the bleeding for the moment, but the Dukes weren’t done with their domination in the second half.
App State cut the lead to 10 after another triple from Tot, and they had a chance to get it closer but Marcus missed the front end of a one-and-one.
The Mountaineers comeback attempt was short-lived, and the Dukes won the game.
App State will be back in action at the Holmes Convocation Center on Thursday against Marshall University. The game will tip off at 6:30 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
