Marshall University Athletics
Thursday, January 16
Harrisonburg, Va.
7:00 p.m.
Marshall University
10-9,3-3Sun Belt
64
at
67
JMU
10-8,3-3Sun Belt
1
2
F
Marshall
25
39
64
James Madison
39
28
67
Herd Men’s Basketball Comeback Falls Short at JMU
1/16/2025 10:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Speer tallies 20 points on the road
Box Score (PDF) | Championship Fund
HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Marshall University Men's Basketball team (10-9, 3-3 SBC) saw a double-digit comeback effort come up just short in a 67-64 loss to the James Madison Dukes (10-8, 3-3 SBC) on Thursday night in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
"I'm proud of our fight in the second half," Herd Men's Basketball Head Coach Corny Jackson said after the contest. "I thought we lost the game in the first five minutes. For whatever reason, we weren't ready to play. But in the second half these guys showed a lot of heart. They showed a lot of toughness. They showed a lot of character. Overall, I'm proud of them. Told them after the game to get their heads up. Quick turnaround, but we have to come ready to play every time we step on the floor."
Leading a quartet of double-figure scorers was Jalen Speer. The graduate student tallied 20 points, his third game of 20 or more this season, on a 6-for-12 shooting night, including 5-of-11 from three-point range. Mikal Dawson followed with 15 points.
The Herd had a pair of double-doubles with Obinna Anochili-Killen registering 12 points and 11 rebounds as Nate Martin finished with 11 points and 12 boards.
Marshall trailed JMU trailed by 11, 64-53, after a Bryce Lindsay layup with 3:11 left in the game. However, MU wasn't ready to quit. Martin tallied five straight points, with an and-one, to cut the deficit to six, 64-58, with 1:53 on the scoreboard.
After a Dukes miss at the other end, Speer was fouled on a three-point attempt with 1:19 left as he nailed all three freebies to make it 64-61. AJ Smith then made just one of his two attempts from the charity stripe with eight seconds left, but Speer nailed a triple and went to the free-throw line with a chance to tie the game with two ticks on the clock for a four-point play. The Gainesville, Florida, native saw his free throw go just off the mark. Smith made a pair from the line for JMU to ice the game with one second remaining.
The Herd trailed by as many as 16 points, 41-25, 23 seconds into the second half and 14, 39-25, at halftime in the team's near comeback as it held the home side to just two makes on 15 attempts in the final 10 minutes of the game.
MU outrebounded JMU 42-34 on the glass.
UP NEXT
Marshall closes out the weekend at Coastal Carolina on Saturday. Opening tip is set for 3:30 p.m.
For all the latest information about Marshall Men's Basketball, follow @Herd_MBB on Twitter and @herdmbb on Instagram.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS and Android.
HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Marshall University Men's Basketball team (10-9, 3-3 SBC) saw a double-digit comeback effort come up just short in a 67-64 loss to the James Madison Dukes (10-8, 3-3 SBC) on Thursday night in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
"I'm proud of our fight in the second half," Herd Men's Basketball Head Coach Corny Jackson said after the contest. "I thought we lost the game in the first five minutes. For whatever reason, we weren't ready to play. But in the second half these guys showed a lot of heart. They showed a lot of toughness. They showed a lot of character. Overall, I'm proud of them. Told them after the game to get their heads up. Quick turnaround, but we have to come ready to play every time we step on the floor."
Leading a quartet of double-figure scorers was Jalen Speer. The graduate student tallied 20 points, his third game of 20 or more this season, on a 6-for-12 shooting night, including 5-of-11 from three-point range. Mikal Dawson followed with 15 points.
The Herd had a pair of double-doubles with Obinna Anochili-Killen registering 12 points and 11 rebounds as Nate Martin finished with 11 points and 12 boards.
Marshall trailed JMU trailed by 11, 64-53, after a Bryce Lindsay layup with 3:11 left in the game. However, MU wasn't ready to quit. Martin tallied five straight points, with an and-one, to cut the deficit to six, 64-58, with 1:53 on the scoreboard.
After a Dukes miss at the other end, Speer was fouled on a three-point attempt with 1:19 left as he nailed all three freebies to make it 64-61. AJ Smith then made just one of his two attempts from the charity stripe with eight seconds left, but Speer nailed a triple and went to the free-throw line with a chance to tie the game with two ticks on the clock for a four-point play. The Gainesville, Florida, native saw his free throw go just off the mark. Smith made a pair from the line for JMU to ice the game with one second remaining.
The Herd trailed by as many as 16 points, 41-25, 23 seconds into the second half and 14, 39-25, at halftime in the team's near comeback as it held the home side to just two makes on 15 attempts in the final 10 minutes of the game.
MU outrebounded JMU 42-34 on the glass.
UP NEXT
Marshall closes out the weekend at Coastal Carolina on Saturday. Opening tip is set for 3:30 p.m.
For all the latest information about Marshall Men's Basketball, follow @Herd_MBB on Twitter and @herdmbb on Instagram.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS and Android.
---HerdZone.com---
Team Stats
Marsh
JMU
FG%
.355
.410
3FG%
.273
.250
FT%
.733
.800
RB
42
34
TO
17
11
STL
8
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
5
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
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