T.J. Bickerstaff had 21 points and 10 rebounds as No. 20 James Madison pulled away in the second half for an 82-65 Sun Belt Conference victory over Texas State on Saturday in Harrisonburg, Va.
Terrence Edwards Jr. added 17 points and five rebounds as the Dukes (13-0, 1-0 Sun Belt) established a program record with their 13th straight win and remained one of three unbeaten teams in Division I.
Noah Freidel and Raekwon Horton contributed 11 points each as James Madison hit 52.4 percent of its shots from the floor and 9 of 24 (37.5 percent) from beyond the arc. The Dukes had just five turnovers to 14 for the Bobcats.
Coleton Benson scored all of his 19 points in the final 10 minutes for Texas State (6-7, 0-1).
Kaden Gumbs tallied 14 points and five rebounds for the Bobcats, who struggled in the second half, missing eight straight shots during a key drought that lasted nearly 6 minutes.
After leading by eight at the break, the Dukes opened the second half with a 15-2 run to take control.
Xavier Brown highlighted the spree with a 3-pointer and Bickerstaff added a pair of buckets. When Horton ended the run by muscling inside for a basket, it put the Dukes up 51-30 with 12:35 left.
Midway through the half, the Bobcats answered with an 11-2 sprint, culminated by 3-pointers from Elijah Tate and Benson.
The run cut the deficit to 56-43 but Freidel responded with a 3-pointer which triggered a 10-point run which put the Dukes back in command.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Michael Green III and Edwards gave James Madison its biggest lead of the game, 72-45, with 4:17 left.
In the opening minutes, James Madison went on a nine-point run, highlighted by a 3-pointer by Freidel, to take a lead it would hold the rest of the way.
Late in the first half, Bickerstaff scored the final four points of an 8-2 run which stretched the Dukes’ lead to 10 before Gumbs made a buzzer-beating fastbreak layup to make it 36-28 at the break.
–Field Level Media