Battling back and forth throughout much of the game, Georgia Southern men's basketball (14-15, 6-10 SBC) was done in by a difference of 20 free throws for James Madison (19-10, 12-4) in Harrisonburg on Saturday, losing its second consecutive game by five points.
Tied at seven at 15:44 of the first half, Nakavieon White and Eren Banks traded layups to get the team's largest lead at 13-10.
The Dukes went on a strong run over the next several minutes, pushing the lead to five and then twice back to 10. GS trailed by double digits at the 3:08 mark.
A personal 9-0 run by White strong-armed the Eagles back into the game. Down 37-34 with 14 seconds left, Adante' Holiman avoided a foul and was perfect on a buzzer-beating three to knot things at 37 after one. White led the Eagles with 13 first-half points.
After JMU put the clamps on through the first five minutes, the Eagles used an 8-0 run over three minutes to tie things back up. White drove and scored and Bradley Douglas drew a blocking foul on a layup, converting the extra and making it 47-all.
White hit a three and Banks sank a floater to keep things tied at 54, but the next run by the Dukes - a 13-2 spread - proved to be too much for the Eagles to overcome.
The Eagles brought it to within three under 40 seconds to play, but an offensive foul on the next possession quelled the rally as the Dukes won their fourth straight over the Eagles by a score of 78-73.
The Eagles had four in double figures - the first time the team has lost all season when that has happened. Douglas (18) and White (18) led the way, the latter of whom scored double digits for the first time since Jan. 11. Holiman (15) and Banks (11) rounded out the scorers over ten.
Eugene Brown III - who had his only other double-digit rebounding game at James Madison in 2023-24 - grabbed a career-best 11 in the loss, scoring six.
The Eagles have two more home games to end the season before the conference tournament, with just a two-day turnaround before matching up with App State on Tuesday.
