Despite a season-best 51 second-half points and snapping a 29-game double-double drought, Georgia Southern men's basketball fell at James Madison on Saturday.
The Eagles (5-22, 5-9 Sun Belt) went ahead 27-25 after David Jones finished off an alley-oop, but the Dukes (24-3, 11-3) were just a little bit better for the remainder of the game.
Malik Tidwell nailed a three to give the Eagles a six-point lead, their largest of the day, with 10:24 left. Collin Kuhl also contributed six points early.
The Eagles went on a 1-for-8 stretch late in the first that allowed JMU to pull away.
Nate Brafford's three-pointer brought the Eagles within one point in the second half, but the Dukes and Eagles traded buckets over the next few minutes, making it 63-50 JMU just after the under-12.
Georgia Southern was not done late. The Eagles went on an unconscious run, converting nine consecutive baskets, however, the Dukes matched them as they couldn't get any closer late.
Eugene Brown III, who had 19 and 9 with less than ten seconds left, grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to record the first double-double of the season.
It snapped a streak of 29 consecutive games without one dating back to 2/22/23, tied for the longest stretch in college basketball.
Brown's 21 were a career-high, as were his ten rebounds. Tidwell went 6-7 from the field, scoring 14, and Moore (12) and Eren Banks (11) also scored in double digits.
The Eagles shot 50.9 percent overall, including a season-high-tying 42 points in the paint. The foul discrepancy was large in this game, shooting 19 free throws compared to the Dukes' 39.
GS returns home for a four-game homestand to close the regular season, beginning with a matchup against Texas State on Thursday.
