HARRISONBURG, Va. (WTKR) — For 25 minutes, Old Dominion put itself in position to finally knock off 20-win James Madison on the road.
Yet for the third time this season, the Dukes flexed their muscles against the silver and blue.
Despite a halftime lead, a 14-0 second half run from JMU doomed ODU in a 78-63 loss. It's the third time this season the silver and blue has fallen to its rivals from Harrisonburg, falling twice in earlier matchups played in Norfolk.
ODU jumped out to a 36-33 lead going into the locker rooms, with threes from Chaunce Jenkins and Tyrone Williams in the final 2:30 of the opening frame capping off a half that saw Monarchs shoot nearly 48 percent from the field.
However, JMU flipped the script coming out of the gates in the second half, shooting 14-24 from the floor in the second frame.
Devin Ceaser led the way for the Monarchs with 14 points off the bench, his third straight game scoring in double figures. Tyrone Williams put up 13 points with a trio of three-pointers, while Chaunce Jenkins chipped in 12 points and RJ Blakney scored 10.
JMU's Noah Friedel led all-scorers with 18 points, followed by TJ Bickerstaff with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
ODU falls to 6-17 on the season and 2-8 in Sun Belt play. The Monarchs get a short turnaround next week, heading to Southern Miss on Wednesday night.
