NORFOLK, Va. – James Madison picked up its fifth win in its last six games on Thursday night, going on the road to capture a 78-73 win at Old Dominion in Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball at Chartway Arena.

The Dukes (16-8, 7-4 SBC) hit 10 of their 20 three-point attempts and assisted on 18 of their 29 baskets, leading ODU (13-10, 5-6 SBC) from wire-to-wire as they grabbed their third straight win over the Monarchs.

Graduate student Takal Molson racked up 18 points and a career-high nine assists across 36 minutes of turnover-free basketball in another strong performance, leading the way for five different Dukes in double figures.

Junior Julien Wooden hit a career-high five three-pointers on his way to 17 points, while sophomore Terrence Edwards stuffed the stat sheet again with 14 points, seven boards, three assists and a steal.

Graduate Mezie Offurum added 11 points and sophomore Tyree Ihenacho hit a pair of three-pointers for the second time in three games on his way to 10 points and three assists.

ODU guard Chaunce Jenkins tallied 19 points and five assists, while Mekhi Long posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The Dukes flew out of the gate, scoring the first nine points of the games and storming out to a 21-7 lead by the 10:39 mark as ODU hit just three of its first 18 attempts from the floor.

JMU would keep the lead in double figures, hitting its game high of 14 two more times before the Monarchs began to slowly chip away, using a double-pump, desperation three-pointer at the horn to cut the Dukes’ lead down to 35-27 at halftime.

Second Half
ODU opened the second half much stronger, using an 11-4 run straight out of the break to trim the Dukes’ lead to one in less than four minutes.

JMU responded with an 8-3 run, however, taking a 47-41 lead with 14:04 left and the Monarchs would never come all the way back to tie the contest.

The two teams spent the rest of the game trading baskets and short runs, with JMU’s advantage staying between four and eight from the 5:14 mark through the final horn.

ODU would chip away with three layups in the final minute, but the Dukes went 4-6 from the line in the final 40 seconds and got a fast break layup against the full-court press to seal the win.

QUICK HITS
– With the victory, JMU extended its lead to 7.5-2.5 over Old Dominion in the inaugural TowneBank Royal Rivalry Challenge.
– The Dukes’ 41 bench points are the fourth-most tallied by JMU against a Division I opponent this season.
– JMU has now won three straight against ODU for the first time since 2000 and consecutive games in Norfolk for the first time since 1981-82.
– The Dukes shot better than 50% (29-54, 53.7%) for the 11th time this season, their most such performances since 2014-15 (12 times).
– JMU racked up 18 assists to just 10 turnovers, its best A/TO ratio of the season.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will remain on the road for the weekend, traveling to App State for a 4 p.m. matchup in Boone, N.C. The Mountaineers handed JMU a 71-62 loss in Harrisonburg earlier this season, but dropped a 66-58 decision to Marshall on Thursday night to fall to 13-11 (6-5 SBC) on the season.

— JMU Athletics —