STATESBORO– Despite a 15-point halftime lead and leading for most of the game, Georgia Southern men's basketball saw James Madison drop 50 second-half points to take control of an 80-74 win.
The Eagles (6-23, 6-10 Sun Belt) fired on all cylinders to begin the contest, but an early 7-0 run in the second half brought the Dukes (26-3, 13-3) closer, in which they would chip away to take the win.
Tyren Moore nailed a few threes early, and Nate Brafford's back-to-back three-balls put the team up 21-9.
Moore scored back-to-back layups, and Cam Bryant nailed a jumper late to push the Eagles into the locker room with a 15-point lead, their largest halftime lead of the season.
The Eagles shot 54 percent in the opening frame. At halftime, the team retired the jerseys of Fran Florian, Johnny Mills, Charlton Young and Tookie Brown in an emotional ceremony.
JMU stormed out of the locker room with a quick 7-0 run, and while the Eagles pushed it back to ten, the Dukes spent the next several minutes chipping away at the deficit.
Eren Banks' layup put the Eagles up six, but that would be the largest their lead would get for the rest of the game.
JMU took its first lead with 5:36 remaining, and after trading buckets, went ahead for good after Raekwon Horton's dunk at 3:46.
GS had a few opportunities to pull back in the waning minutes but couldn't convert, falling 80-74.
Moore scored a game-high 27, while Avantae Parker scored 17 to join him in double digits. Ultimately, the three-ball did the Eagles in, converting on just two in the second half.
Georgia Southern plays its penultimate home game against Marshall on Wednesday.
