No. 19 James Madison stays unbeaten with 68-61 win over Louisiana-Lafayette

LAFAYETTE, La. -- — Noah Freidel hit two 3-pointers in the final two minutes, Terrence Edwards led all scorers with 19 points and T.J. Bickerstaff had 14 points and 11 rebounds as No. 19 James Madison remained undefeated with a 68-61 win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Thursday night.

The Dukes (14-0, 2-0 Sun Belt) went on a 14-0 run midway through the second half to open a 49-40 lead and snap the Cajuns 19-game home wining streak. Bickerstaff scored nine of his points during the run.

James Madison opened the game on 1-of-12 shooting, but the Cajuns (7-7, 0-2) never led by more than eight points. The Cajuns had four in double figures, led by Kentrell Garnett with 17 points.

Kobe Julien added 15 points and Kitenge Hosana had 11. Themus Fulks, who averaged 11.6 points per game coming into Thursday, finished with eight points on 4-of-14 shooting. Joe Charles had a game-high 15 rebounds.

A physical game that featured multiple tough fouls, ended with a scuffle as both teams headed to their respective locker rooms. Cajuns coach Bob Marlin said emotions heated up, but he wasn’t quite clear on what started it.

“I know (James Madison) was chippy in the handshake line,” Marlin said. “They were talking a little bit and it appeared like one of their players who was in street clothes began cursing. That’s when our guys rallied and ran out, but I’m not really sure exactly what happened.”

After an early 3-2 lead, the Dukes were behind in the game until 11:54 to play. With the Dukes up 58-57, Freidel, who finished the game with 11 points, hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to open up a seven-point lead.

James Madison outrebounded the Cajuns 46-31.

UP NEXT

James Madison: Plays at Southern Mississippi on on Saturday.

Louisiana-Lafayette: Will host Coastal Carolina on Saturday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball