PENSACOLA, Fla. (JMU Athletics) – Third-seeded Troy used a strong-shooting first half and never trailed in a 79-60 semifinal victory against second-seeded James Madison in the Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship on Sunday night at the Pensacola Bay Center.

Troy improves to 22-10 on the year and advances to Monday’s title game against Arkansas State, while JMU saw its season end at 20-12. Despite the loss, the Dukes turned in 20+ wins for the third straight season.

JMU found itself in a 19-point hole in the second half and cut the deficit to just seven off the back of Mark Freeman, who scored 25 of his career-high 34 points in the second half. However, Troy answered with an 11-1 run and never led by fewer than 12 points down the stretch.

Three Trojans scored at least 20 points, led by Sun Belt Player of the Year Tayton Conerway, who had 22 points. Jackson Fields netted a career-high five 3-pointers to finish with a career-best 21 points, six rebounds and two blocks, while Thomas Dowd added 20 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.

Troy shot 54% from the floor in the first half and finished at 47% for the game, as it drained seven of its 10 threes in the opening stanza to seize control. JMU shot 32% for the game, as its 23% first-half shooting dug a hole it couldn’t climb out of.

For Freeman, he concludes his career with his biggest offensive performance not just in a JMU uniform but in his entire collegiate career. He finished 12-for-19 from the floor and went 6-for-10 from beyond the arc to finish with 34 points in 32 minutes of work.

He was the lone Duke to score in double figures, as Elijah Hutchins-Everett contributed nine points and six rebounds, while Bryce Lindsay added six points and a career-high nine boards. Both Dukes also had a pair of steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half – Troy 40, JMU 23
• Troy fired on all cylinders early to jump out to an 11-0 lead following three treys on its first four attempts. The Trojans extended the lead to 14, at 19-5, less than seven minutes in.
• JMU climbed back with an 8-0 run, holding TU without a point for four-and-a-half minutes, as Freeman’s first triple cut Troy’s advantage to 19-13 with 10:43 to play in the half.
• The Dukes closed within 24-20 on a Hutchins-Everett dunk with 6:40 remaining, but it would be their last field goal of the frame, missing their final eight shots, including five from long range.
• During that time, Troy used a 16-3 run in the final 5:52 to snag a 40-23 halftime lead.

Second Half – Troy 79, JMU 60
• JMU opened the second by scoring eight of the first 10 to get within 42-31, but Troy made it 52-33, the largest lead to that point, after its 10-2 run.
• That’s when Freeman took over, as he produced 11 of JMU’s next 14 points to lead a 15-3 surge to make it a 55-48 ballgame with 7:23 to play.
• Leading 57-50, Troy used another run, this time at 11-1 in less than three minutes, to grow the advantage back to 17, at 68-51.
• After a Freeman old-fashioned, three-point play, Troy would score the next nine points, giving way to its largest lead of the night, at 77-54.
• Freeman closed the night with two more threes, and in the last 11:58, he scored 23 of JMU’s final 24 points.

Game Notes
• Freeman turned in his Sun Belt-leading sixth 25-point game of the season and reached 30+ for the third time in 2024-25. It was also his sixth career 30-point game as well.
• JMU’s 17-point halftime deficit was the second largest of the season, as it trailed 49-30 at App State.
• JMU had just eight turnovers, as opposed to Troy’s 13, leading to 19 points off turnovers for the Dukes.
• Troy out-rebounded JMU, 41-34, though JMU had a 14-11 edge on the offensive glass to score 16 second-chance points.
• The Trojans made eight blocks, to JMU’s two and dished out 14 assists on its 25 made shots, while JMU was held to just five dimes on its 20 field goals.
• Troy never trailed, leading for 38:54 of the 40 minutes.

— JMU Athletics —