HARRISONBURG, Va. (Interstat) — In a game defined by a staggering reversal of momentum, James Madison erased a 17-point halftime deficit to edge Old Dominion 70-69 in a Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball thriller on Saturday afternoon at a raucous JMU Convocation Center.

The Dukes, who trailed 44-27 at the break, outscored the Monarchs 43-25 in the second half to complete the comeback before an announced crowd of 5,585. The victory improved James Madison to 9-8 overall, while Old Dominion fell to 5-13.

The most important part of the game was unquestionably James Madison’s second-half transformation, spearheaded by forward Justin McBride. After a first half where Old Dominion’s defensive pressure forced 10 James Madison turnovers and held the Dukes to 27 points on 2-of-11 shooting from three-point range, the home team flipped the script entirely. James Madison committed only five turnovers after halftime and relentlessly attacked the interior, scoring 42 of its 70 total points in the paint. The Dukes also capitalized at the free-throw line, making 20 of 25 attempts compared to Old Dominion’s 14 of 20.

McBride, a 6-foot-7, 240-pound junior from Plano, Texas, was the catalyst for the rally. He scored 29 points, with 22 coming in the second half, to lead all scorers. His driving layup with 1:53 remaining gave James Madison a 63-61 lead, its first advantage since the opening minutes. After Old Dominion tied the game, McBride converted a three-point play with 1:53 left and later added a crucial layup off a Gabe Newhof assist with 1:06 to play, pushing the Dukes’ lead to 66-61.

Old Dominion, which had controlled the first half behind Ketron Shaw’s 18 points and a barrage of three-pointers, fought back valiantly. A driving layup by LJ Thomas cut the deficit to 66-63 with 59 seconds left. Following an Eddie Ricks free throw for James Madison, Thomas struck again with a layup to make it 67-65 with 46 seconds remaining.

The game’s decisive sequence came in the final seconds. With James Madison leading 68-66, Old Dominion’s Jordan Battle drove for a potential game-tying layup with two seconds left, but his attempt was blocked by Ike Cornish. Gabe Newhof secured the defensive rebound for James Madison and was fouled. He made both free throws to seal the victory at 70-66. Old Dominion’s Robert Davis hit a three-pointer at the buzzer for the final margin.

Newhof, a 6-foot-9 forward from Hudsonville, Michigan, was instrumental in the win with 17 points and several key interior plays. Bradley Douglas facilitated the offense with six assists. For Old Dominion, Shaw finished with 18 points, while Battle added 11. The Monarchs’ defense was active throughout, tallying 11 steals and forcing 15 total turnovers, but they could not sustain their offensive efficiency after halftime, shooting just 23 of 62 from the field for the game.

The victory avenged a 77-68 loss for James Madison at Old Dominion on Dec. 17. According to Interstat’s ELO system, James Madison entered the game with an 86.10 percent probability to win and was a 5.5-point pregame favorite. The total score of 139 fell under the over/under line of 148.5.

James Madison next travels to face Appalachian State on Thursday. Old Dominion will visit Georgia Southern on the same night.