HARRISONBURG, Va. (Interstat) — In a grinding Sun Belt Conference clash defined by defense and decisive runs, the James Madison Dukes avenged an earlier loss by pulling away from the Appalachian State Mountaineers for a 69-58 victory on Saturday afternoon at a raucous JMU Convocation Center.

The game’s pivotal sequence arrived early in the second half, transforming a narrow contest into a comfortable James Madison lead. After Appalachian State’s Luke Wilson hit a pair of free throws to open the half, cutting the Dukes’ lead to 29-26, James Madison unleashed a 14-3 surge over the next four minutes. The run was fueled by transition offense and sharp perimeter shooting, hallmarks of their performance. Cliff Davis and Oriekose Egbule buried three-pointers, and Justin McBride capped the burst with another triple, pushing the advantage to 43-29 with 15:34 remaining. The Mountaineers, plagued by cold shooting all afternoon, could not mount a sustained response, never drawing closer than eight points the rest of the way.

James Madison improved to 14-13 overall and found success by capitalizing on Appalachian State’s mistakes. The Dukes scored 16 points off just nine Mountaineer turnovers and outscored Appalachian State 12-2 in fastbreak opportunities. They also held a significant edge in efficiency, posting an offensive rating of 109.4 on 63 possessions compared to the Mountaineers’ rating of 96.0 on 60 trips.

Justin McBride led all scorers with 21 points for James Madison, continuing his strong recent form. He was complemented by Cliff Davis, who added 11 points and a game-high five assists, orchestrating an offense that managed just six total assists but hit timely shots. The Dukes shot 42.4% from the field and 36.4% from three-point range, while holding Appalachian State to a frigid 35.2% overall and 21.4% from beyond the arc.

Appalachian State, which fell to 18-10, was carried by the interior dominance of Luke Wilson. The 6-foot-9 forward from Augusta, Georgia, recorded a monstrous double-double with 18 points and 16 rebounds, adding two blocks. Guard Alonzo Dodd matched Wilson’s 18 points but needed 18 shot attempts to get there. The Mountaineers won the battle on the offensive glass, 14-9, and scored 24 points in the paint, but their 6-for-28 shooting from deep and 14-for-24 performance at the free-throw line proved too much to overcome.

The first half was a defensive struggle, with James Madison taking a 29-24 lead into the break. The Dukes built an early 7-0 advantage before Appalachian State clawed back, largely through Wilson’s work inside. The Mountaineers’ offense, however, never found a consistent rhythm, committing nine first-half turnovers that James Madison converted into 10 points.

The victory marked a reversal from the teams’ first meeting on Jan. 15, when Appalachian State cruised to an 80-65 win in Boone. This time, James Madison’s defensive pressure and ability to turn defense into offense made the difference in front of 4,528 home fans.

James Madison next travels to face Coastal Carolina on Wednesday. Appalachian State returns home to host Marshall on Thursday.