HARRISONBURG, Va. (JMU Athletics) – Gabe Newhof and Justin McBride combined for 32 points, and James Madison men’s basketball won its first game of the 2025-26 season, downing Washington & Lee 70-56 on Wednesday night at the Atlantic Union Bank Center.

JMU improved to 1-1, while the game served as an exhibition for Washington & Lee.

Newhof finished with 20 points to lead all scorers, as the senior also corralled eight rebounds. McBride finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Paul Jones III chipped in eight points off the bench, knocking down a pair of triples.

The Dukes held a strong advantage in the paint, outpacing the Generals in rebounding (44-31), points in the paint (42-26), and blocks (8-1).

For Washington & Lee, Connor Amarosi finished with 14 points on 7-of-14 shooting while Colin Ryan Added 12 points.

How it Happened
First Half: James Madison 38, Washington & Lee 30
• Both squads struggled to find a rhythm early, as the Dukes only led 6-4 at the first media timeout. However, JMU capped an 11-6 run with a pair of buckets from Newhof to push the score to 17-10 and force a W&L timeout.
• After the timeout, James Madison grew their lead to as many as 11. The Generals outscored the Dukes 7-2 in the next three minutes to make the score 29-23 at the under-four media timeout.
• Following a Washington & Lee triple that cut the Dukes’ lead to one, JMU ended the half scoring seven unanswered, including five off turnovers, to put them ahead 38-30 at the break.

Second Half: James Madison 70, Washington & Lee 56
• An Eli Wilborn layup pushed the JMU advantage to 13 at the 14:36 mark, its largest lead thus far.
• The Dukes maintained their lead for the remainder of the contest, not allowing the Generals to draw any closer than eight to grab their first win of the season.

Game Notes
• JMU improved to 5-1 all-time against Washington & Lee.
• Newhof’s 20-point outing was the first of his Division I career and 60th of his collegiate career overall, dating back to his time at Spring Arbor.
• Christian Brown finished with two blocks, bringing his season total to nine through two games.

Up Next
The Dukes will take on Coppin State inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center on Sunday, Nov. 9, at 1 p.m.

— JMU Athletics —