MONROE, La. (JMU Athletics) – The duo of Mark Freeman (27) and Bryce Lindsay (20) combined for 57 points, and James Madison men’s basketball survived a comeback attempt from a scrappy ULM team, winning its 10th straight Sun Belt Conference game 85-79 over the Warhawks at Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Tuesday night.

JMU improved to 20-10 and 13-4 in the Sun Belt, while ULM fell to 7-23 and 3-14 in conference play. With the win, the Dukes have secured at least a share of the Sun Belt regular season championship and can win the title outright with either a South Alabama loss at Southern Miss on Wednesday or a win at Texas State on Friday.

The Dukes have secured a top-two seed and a trip to the Semifinal Round of the Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship on Sunday, March 9 inside the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla. JMU has won 10 straight conference games for just the third time in program history, also doing it in the 2023-24 and 1989-90 seasons.

Freeman’s 27 points were the redshirt senior’s fifth 25-point effort of the season, knocking down 10-of-10 free throws to help ice the win. Lindsay finished with 20 points while making a career-high six threes, surpassing the JMU freshman record for three-pointers in a single season (80), set by Kent Culuko in 1991-92.

Tyrese Watson led ULM with 26 points. Makai Willis (14 points, 16 rebounds) and Jerry Ngopot (12 points, 12 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles for the Warhawks, who outrebounded JMU 47-33.

How It Happened
First Half: James Madison 47, ULM 36
• ULM committed five turnovers in the opening 4:10, but JMU began 2-of-9 from the field and trailed 8-5 at the first media timeout
• JMU then went on a 19-6 run, capped by a Freeman and-one to lead 24-14 with 10:49 to play in the first.
• Lindsay then began to heat up from distance, helping the Dukes to a 36-20 lead at the 7:37 mark of the first as JMU enjoyed 7-of-13 shooting from three, connecting on six of their next nine field goals following Freeman’s and-one.
• JMU would lead by as many as 18 in the opening frame but gave up 12 offensive rebounds and only led by 12 at the break.

Second Half: James Madison 85, ULM 79
• ULM opened the second half efficient from the floor, finding points in the paint to make it a 52-44 game with 15:52 to play.
• The Warhawks continued to close the gap as JMU went cold shooting and saw its lead shrink to just two at 54-52 with 13:30 to go.
• The Dukes maintained a slim lead as both teams then found themselves struggling from the floor. A pair of Smith free throws gave JMU a 72-67 edge with just under four minutes to play.
• A Freeman and-one with 48 seconds pushed the lead back to eight, and the Dukes managed to run out the clock and convert on the foul line as time ran out for the Warhawks.

Game Notes
• With the win, James Madison clinches at least a share of the Sun Belt Conference regular season championship and a bye to the conference tournament semifinals in Pensacola, Fla., on March 9. It will be just the second time in program history that the Dukes have played in the semifinals of a conference tournament, the last coming from 1992-95.
• A win at Texas State on Friday would clinch JMU’s first outright regular season crown since the 1990-91 season.
• The win gives JMU its 10th straight Sun Belt win, the third 10-game conference winning streak in program history. The Dukes won 12 consecutive league games in the 2023-24 season and 11 straight in the 1989-90 season.
• JMU won its 40th Sun Belt Conference game since joining the league ahead of the 2022-23 season. In that span, the Dukes are 40-13 (.754) against league foes.
• Head Coach Preston Spradlin now has four consecutive 20-win seasons as a head coach, dating back to his time at Morehead State. He is now one win away from tying the most wins by a first-year men’s basketball coach – set by Matt Brady (21) in the 2008-09 season.
• Lindsay made six three-pointers and now has 83 this season, surpassing the previous JMU record for most three-pointers in a single season (80), which was set by Kent Culuko in 1991-92.
• JMU made nine three-pointers in the first half, marking a new season-high. The Dukes also tied a season-high in first-half points (47) against a Division I opponent.
• Freeman’s fifth 25-point game makes him just the fifth different JMU player to tally five 25-point games since 2004-05.

— JMU Athletics —