Charleston, S.C. – Charleston and James Madison went toe-to-toe in high-scoring, high-octane affair on Saturday afternoon in Harrisonburg. The Dukes squeaked out a 95-94 victory in the wild contest, staving off the Cougars' comeback effort in the final minutes.
Both teams shot 48 percent or better from the field and combined for 20 made 3-pointers. CofC once again dominated the glass, owning a 45-27 rebounding edge on the back of a season-best 20 offensive rebounds. The Cougars capitalized, piling up 24 second-chance points.
James Madison countered by forcing 20 Charleston turnovers and scoring 21 points off those miscues. Eight different players across both squads reached double figures, led by the Dukes' Vado Morse, who scored a game-high 32 points, including a pair of game-winning free throws to cement the win.
Charleston's youth was up to the challenge on Saturday as freshman Reyne Smith led the Cougars with 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc. Smith and his fellow group of five freshmen accounted for a season-best 45 of CofC's 94 points. Senior Dimitrius Underwood posted a season-high 18 points and senior John Meeks added 17 points in the loss.
After a seesaw battle saw James Madison take a 3-point lead into halftime, the Cougars trailed by five at the 18:26 mark of the second half before mounting a big 13-2 run. It was the freshmen who keyed the spurt as Babacar Faye, Raekwon Horton and Ben Burnham scored nine unanswered points to surge CofC in front, 60-54.
Charleston led by as many as eight with 9:53 remaining before James Madison seized momentum and used a 16-2 run to build a 4-point lead. The Dukes hung on to a two-possession advantage until a personal 4-0 Dimitrius Underwood spurt after a steal and dunk clipped JMU's lead to one. The Dukes made enough free throws in the final 20 seconds to win it, though, holding off CofC by a point.
Key Cougars
· Reyne Smith poured in 21 points to lead CofC, matching his career-high with six 3-pointers.
· Dimitrius Underwood scored a season-high 18 points on 5-of-9 FGs, and added seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
· Freshman Ben Burnham posted nine points and eight rebounds, narrowly missing his first career double-double.
· Senior John Meeks scored 17 points on three 3-pointers.
· Freshman Babacar Faye was a perfect 3-of-3 from the field and 3-of-4 at the line to finish with nine points.
Game Notes
· CofC's freshmen five combined for a season-high 45 points. A Cougar freshman has scored in double figures in 14 of CofC's 17 games.
· Dimitrius Underwood is already only 11 steals shy of cracking CofC's all-time single-season steals Top 25 list with 39 and counting.
· CofC, the nation's fourth-best offensive rebounding team, corralled a season-high 20 offensive boards against JMU. The Cougars have snatched 20+ offensive rebounds in a game just three times now since 2010. Thursday marked the first time Charleston ever reached that number in a CAA league game.
· The Cougars have now played in eight straight games decided by single digits.
Up Next
The Cougars return home to face William & Mary on Tuesday, beginning a 3-game swing all at TD Arena. Tip-off on Tuesday is set for 7 p.m. ET on FloSports.
