The James Madison University Dukes defeated the Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball team 74-68 in Harrisonburg, Va., on Saturday.
Senior forward Brandon Bowdry led the Eagles with a double-double putting up 22 points and 13 rebounds. Junior guard Darrell Lampley, sophomore guard Derek Thompson and sophomore center Matt Balkema all scored in double-digits. Lampley added 15 points and had a game-high six assists. Thompson scored 13 and Balkema scored 10.
Rayshawn Goins and Denzel Bowles each had a double-double for the Dukes. Goins went for 25 and 12 while Bowles went for 21 and 11. Devon Moore added 12 points.
EMU had a 17-11 lead with 8:05 to play in the first half. JMU fought back, and just before half-time Bowles grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed jump by Moore and was fouled on the put-back layup. He made the free throw and successfully converted the three-point-play and gave his team a one-point lead at the end of the first half.
The Eagles (1-3) did regain the lead with 15:54 left in the game by going up 33-32. It would be the last time they would be ahead for the rest of the night. JMU (5-1) is 4-0 at home this season and home-court advantage began to take affect as the Dukes started opening up a larger lead midway through the second half.
In the second half, EMU coach Charles Ramsey called a timeout after a layup by Goins sent the Dukes 46-41 with 10:12 left to play. The lead would be opened up even further (58-50) before the Eagles came back within 59-57 with 5:23 left to play.
The Eagles fell behind, 66-61, before a three-point jumper by Lampley and a two-point jumper from Bowdry made it a one-possession game with 1:07 left.
A pair of missed shots by the Eagles and six made free throws in the final 28 seconds by the Dukes closed out.
Free throws decided this game. The Dukes outscored the Eagles at the foul line by 24 points.
The Eagles will take their 0-3 road record to Moscow, Idaho, to play in the Basketball Travelers Tournament on Friday through Sunday. They will play at 5:30 p.m. on Friday against Monmouth University. On Saturday at 5:30 p.m. they will move on to play North Dakota University
