No. 20 James Madison buries Hampton in 2nd half, wins by 17

Field Level Media|published: Sat 16th December, 16:25 2023

Dec 16, 2023; Hampton, Virginia, USA; James Madison Dukes forward Julien Wooden (22) dunks the ball against Hampton Pirates forward Ja'Von Benson (21) during the first half at Hampton Convocation Center. credits: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Xavier Brown came off the bench to score 17 points and help rally No. 20 James Madison to an 88-71 victory over host Hampton on Saturday in Hampton, Va.

Michael Green III supplied 16 points and eight assists, while T.J. Bickerstaff added 12 points and six rebounds as James Madison (10-0) rallied from a 10-point deficit in the first half to continue its best start in program history.

Six Dukes scored in double figures to fuel a balanced attack. Freshman Jaylen Carey had his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Noah Freidel added 13 points and eight rebounds.

With top scorer Terrence Edwards Jr. (17.9 ppg) failing to score, Brown came to the rescue, hitting 3 of 5 shots from beyond the arc. The Dukes made 12 of 32 from deep overall.

The Dukes also clamped down on defense in the second half. After the Pirates shot 50 percent from the floor and committed five turnovers in the first half, they made just 36.7 percent of their tries and had 11 turnovers in the second period.

Kyrese Mullen registered his sixth double-double this season with 14 points and 12 rebounds for Hampton (4-6). Jerry Deng contributed 18 points for the Pirates and Tedrick Wilcox Jr. added 11 points.

Bickerstaff sparked James Madison at the start of the second half as he scored two straight baskets sandwiched around a shot that he blocked at the other end as the Dukes went ahead for good, 53-49.

James Madison took command with a 14-2 run fueled by 10 points by Brown, who hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions as the Dukes grabbed a 73-56 lead.

A fastbreak dunk by Brown maxed out James Madison's lead at 88-63 with 3:14 left.

In the first half, Deng came off the bench and hit his first four shots to spark the Pirates. His fastbreak jumper and 3-pointer finished off a 7-0 run that gave the Pirates an early lead, 19-16.

During one stretch of the half, James Madison missed nine straight 3-pointers. Hampton took advantage to hike its advantage to 37-27 with 4:33 left in the period as Ford Cooper Jr. drained a 3-pointer.

Green buried two 3-pointers 22 seconds apart to spark the Dukes on their way to cutting the deficit to 42-41 at the break.

—Field Level Media

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