James Madison beats Omaha in FIU Multi-Team Event

After rallying past Florida International on Monday, the James Madison Dukes returned to the Ocean Bank Convocation Center on Tuesday to defeat the Omaha Mavericks 88-77 on Tuesday to conclude their portion of the FIU Multi-Team Event.

The Dukes continue to ride the hot hand of junior forward Justin McBride, who scored a game-high 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting. McBride helped James Madison build a commanding 48-32 lead at halftime with 14 points including a perfect 3-of-3 from the three-point line.

As a team, the Dukes shot 17-of-30 from the arc throughout the game. Freshman guard Preston Fowler scored 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting, all from the three-point line. Senior guard Cliff Davis scored 15 points including 3-of-5 from the three-point line for the Dukes. Senior guard Bradley Douglas added nine points, all on three-point shooting. Senior forward Gabe Newhof chipped in nine points inside the paint for the Dukes (5-3).

Omaha was led by senior guard Lance Waddles, who scored 18 points with 10 rebounds for the game’s only double-double. Khamani Cooper scored 16 points, Christian Richardson added 11 points with three blocks and Tony Osburn and Grant Stubblefield each had 10 points for the Mavericks.

Tied 11-11 six minutes into the game, the Dukes created separation with a 13-2 run to go up 24-13 with 11:08 remaining, highlighted by two three-pointers by McBride and a long shot from Preston Fowler.

Three-point shooting served James Madison well in the first half. The Dukes drained three more shots from the arc during a 12-0 run that grew their lead to 39-18 with 6:40 to go in the half.

Richardson scored five straight points including a slam dunk to cap a 10-0 run to put Omaha back within 11 points, trailing JMU 39-28 with 3:17 remaining.

Both teams traded three-point shots to start the second half. Fowler made four threes within three minutes to keep JMU ahead of Omaha by 22 points with less than 10 minutes to go in the game.

Trailing 84-62 after a Douglas three-pointer with seven minutes left in the game, the Mavericks went on a 15-4 run to finish the game with an 11-point loss.

Omaha will take on FIU at 2 p.m., Wednesday in a game both teams need to win for the sake of their respective early-season outlook.