TROY, Ala. – Senior guard Vado Morse knocked down a jump shot with 0.6 seconds left in overtime to lift James Madison to a massive 89-87 win at Troy in Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball at Trojan Arena.

The Dukes (13-7, 4-3 SBC) rallied from 13 down in the second half and a seven-point deficit with less than 2:30 remaining in regulation, closing on an 8-1 run to force the extra period. Troy (12-8, 4-3) shot 51.8% (29-56) on the evening, but made just three of its final eight free throws across the last 2:35 of regulation and the overtime period.

JMU led by as many as four in overtime, but a deep three and a free throw from Troy tied things up before the Trojans missed the second free throw with 5.6 seconds left. After fielding the in-bound pass, Terrence Edwards found Morse near the top of the arch and Morse put the Dukes up for good on a shot that found both the front and back of the rim before dropping home.

Morse led all scorers on the night, racking up 25 points for the second straight game, including 11 of the Dukes’ 15 points in overtime alone. Edwards posted his own stellar stat line, tallying 19 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals across 26 minutes, while junior Julien Wooden added 11 points.

Graduate forward Mezie Offurum continued his strong play with 17 points, seven rebounds and three steals, while giving the Dukes a shot at the win in the first place when he tipped in his own shot with 0.7 seconds left in regulation to tie things at 74-74 and force overtime.

Despite trailing in rebounding by a 22-12 margin at halftime, the Dukes dominated the boards from there on, grabbing 25 rebounds to Troy’s 15 across the final 25 minutes. JMU also forced 21 turnovers with the help of 13 steals, the 11th time this season that the Dukes have tallied double digits.

Troy guard Aamer Muhammad scored 17 points, including eight in overtime, to lead four Trojans in double figures on the night.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The Dukes jumped out to an early 6-2 lead on the Trojans, but Troy would score the next five points and eventually stretch its run to 19-2 as it took a commanding 21-8 lead at the 12:11 mark.

Troy would build the advantage to as large as 28-13, its largest lead of the game, before JMU responded with seven straight points. The Trojans pushed things back to 14 on two separate occasions, but the Dukes again responded closing the half with a 9-2 run that took things to the break at 42-35.

Second Half
JMU immediately cut the lead to four, but the Trojans responded and pushed things back out to a 57-44 advantage with 12:11 on the clock.

From there, the Dukes clawed back, eventually using nine straight points to get as close as 64-63 with 6:40 left before Troy responded with six straight.

In the final minutes, however, Edwards took over, going on a personal 8-2 run in just over two minutes. After Troy used a free throw with 10 seconds left to go up 74-72, Offurum followed his own missed three-pointer and tipped in the rebound to force the extra period.

Overtime
The Dukes struck first in overtime, but Troy immediately responded with a 7-2 run that gave it an 83-80 lead with 2:17 left. From there JMU, ripped off seven straight points, capped by a frantic steal of an in-bounds pass that led to a Morse three-pointer, to go up 87-83.

Troy drilled a three of its own just seconds later to cut it to one, then drew a foul with just six seconds left, making one of two free throws to tie things up.

After a JMU time out, Edwards fielded the inbounds pass, dribbled across midcourt and found Morse for his heroics near the top of the arch. When Troy’s halfcourt heave missed iron, the Dukes escaped with a hard-fought victory.

QUICK HITS
– Morse’s 25 points in back-to-back games marks the first time a JMU player has done so since he himself did it on Jan. 20 and 22 this past season against UNCW and College of Charleston.

– The victory snapped a four-game overtime losing streak for JMU, marking the Dukes’ first OT win since a 95-91 overtime win at William & Mary.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will remain on the road for the weekend, traveling to Southern Miss for a matchup on Saturday, Jan. 21 – tip is currently scheduled for 3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. CT. On Thursday, the Golden Eagles picked up a 76-72 win over South Alabama at home to remain tied for first place in the league at 16-4 (5-2 SBC) on the season.

— JMU Athletics —