PENSACOLA, Fla. — James Madison pulled away in the second half to defeat Louisiana 87-72 on Wednesday in the men's Sun Belt Conference Tournament at the Pensacola Bay Center.
The Dukes set the tone early, jumping out to a quick 5-0 lead before Louisiana answered with baskets from Dorian Finister and Jaxon Olvera to take a brief 10-7 advantage midway through the first half. James Madison responded with a strong run fueled by interior scoring and transition offense to regain control.
By the closing minutes of the half, the Dukes had stretched their lead to double digits, including a fast-break finish from Cliff Davis that pushed the margin to 35-23. Louisiana added a late dunk from Todd Jones Jr., but James Madison carried a 37-27 lead into halftime.
Louisiana opened the second half with momentum, scoring the first four points to cut the deficit to 37-31. The Cajuns continued to chip away and eventually trimmed the lead to five at 53-48 after a three-pointer from Milan Mejia with just under 12 minutes to play.
But James Madison answered with a decisive run. A three-pointer from Bradley Douglas extended the lead back to 47-37 earlier in the half, and the Dukes later used a fast-break surge highlighted by back-to-back finishes from Davis and Justin McBride to stretch the lead to 62-51.
From there, James Madison maintained control down the stretch. A dunk from McBride and another transition basket from Davis pushed the lead to double digits again, and the Dukes closed the game at the free-throw line to secure the 87-72 victory.
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