South Alabama withstand late push by James Madison

After a back-and-forth first half that saw five lead changes, James Madison have the lead going into the half, the South Alabama Jaguars (14-6, 5-3 Sun Belt) stormed back and dominated most of the half, scoring 54 points in the half and defeat the James Madison Dukes (9-11, 2-6 Sun Belt) 90-83.

The Jaguars were led by Adam Olsen, who scored 26 points on 8-16 from the field, and four of those makes coming from downtown.

The Jaguars got great help from some of the others, with JJ Wheat coming off the bench with 17 points and three steals, Chaze Harris with 15 points and nine rebounds, and Jayden Cooper with 14.

James Madison was up 40-36 at the half, looking to end the losing streak, but came out of the half flat, with South Alabama scoring the first 11 points before the official TV timeout was called, giving them the momentum they needed.

8-0 run from Coop 👀 @JaydenTCoop pic.twitter.com/XreMjbjw9M

— South Alabama Men’s Basketball 🏀 (@SouthAlabamaMBB) January 23, 2026

Cooper scored eight of the 11 points in that run, drilling two triples and a layup off a JMU turnover. The run continued for Alabama, and by the halfway mark of the second half, South Alabama was leading 62-48, completely flipping the game upside down.

“We dig these holes, it’s really arduous for us to overcome them,” said James Madison head coach Preston Spradlin. “We had five of the first seven possessions were a turnover”.

South Alabama led by as much as 16 during the half with a 74-58 lead with 5:23 to go. James Madison continued to show fight with several triples, bringing this to a 78-74 ballgame with 2:10 left. South Alabama relied on free-throw shooting to bring this home.

A big part of the second-half turnaround was that South Alabama started playing in a zone. James Madison took 29 shots in the half, and 25 of those 29 were three-point attempts, most of which weren’t clean looks. James Madison made nine of those 25 three-point attempts, and six of those makes came in the final five minutes as they attempted to come back.

For James Madison, they were led by Justin McBride. McBride ended the game with 30 points and 12 rebounds, his first career double-double and second-highest scoring game of the season. McBride also scored efficiently, making 9-12 shots, and five of those makes came from beyond the arc, his most made three pointers in a game this season. This snapped McBride’s two-game slump that saw him score 15 points and shoot 5-25 over that span.

Cliff Davis also added 13 points with four made three-pointers, Preston Fowler scored 12, and Bradley Douglas ended with 10.

A major difference in the game between these teams was taking care of the ball. James Madison turned the ball over 17 times, and South Alabama turned it over only three times the entire game. With those 17 turnovers, South Alabama converted and scored 23 points off those turnovers.

“We had guys that didn’t really meet passes, weren’t strong with it, and then wanted to become facilitators instead of scoring the ball against someone that you have a size advantage against,” Spradlin said.

South Alabama responded after a tough home loss to the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns this past Saturday. The Jaguars will travel to Huntington to take on the Marshall Thundering Herd (13-7, 5-3 Sun Belt) for that game on Saturday. That game tips off at noon.

JMU’s struggles on the season continue, as they have now dropped three games in a row, tying their longest losing streak of this season. They will look to avoid a fourth straight defeat on Saturday when the Texas State Bobcats (11-10, 4-5 Sun Belt) come to Harrisonburg for a 1:00 p.m. tip.