HARRISONBURG, Va. – A furious second-half rally fell short Tuesday evening, as Florida Atlantic University dropped a 79-70 decision to James Madison University at the Atlantic Union Bank Center.
James Madison built a 21-point advantage late in the contest, leading 65-44 with just under eight minutes to play. But the Owls responded from behind the 3-point arc to spark the comeback attempt. Three consecutive triples – two from Michael Forrest and one from Jailyn Ingram – pulled the Owls within 11, 68-57, with 5:30 remaining.
A pair of Ingram free throws trimmed the JMU lead to nine with five minutes left, 68-59. Another Ingram triple at the four-minute mark pulled the Owls within seven, as close as they had been since the early moments of the second half.
James Madison’s Matt Lewis dashed any further hopes for a comeback with a 3-pointer at the 2:52 mark to put the Dukes up by 10. Lewis scored 19 and was among four who scored in double figures for JMU.
Ingram exploded for the Owls in the second half. He scored 17 of his game-high 20 points in the second half. Ingram hit three of his four 3-pointers after halftime as well. Kenan Blackshear and Forrest were also in double figures for FAU with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
James Madison opened the game on a 12-2 run. The Owls spent the remainder of the first half chipping away at the deficit. A Giancarlo Rosado bucket with less than a minute left in the half finally tied it at 25-25. But that’s as close as the FAU would get, despite the second-half rally.
JMU scored the last four points of the first half and then outscored FAU 11-2 to start the second half for a 15-2 outburst. The Dukes led 40-27 less than four minutes into the second half, forcing FAU to play catch-up for the remainder of the contest.
Notes
- Ingram scored 20-plus points for the fourth time in nine games this season.
- Tuesday’s contest marked the first time all season that FAU had more turnovers than its opponent.
- IT was the second time this season that the Owls did not hold a lead at any point during a game.
- Ingram’s 3-pointer with 2:35 left in the first half was the first triple for either team. The two teams were just 1-of-21 from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes.
- Tuesday’s game was the first of a three-game, week-long trip to Virginia. The Owls traveled to Norfolk following the game and will play at Old Dominion this weekend.
Quoting Coach May
“There were definitely some bright spots in the game, but our level of competitiveness, our sense of urgency in the first half has to change. Whether it’s a lineup shakeup or something we’re doing, we just have to be a much, much more aggressive team. I don’t think we played with the level of aggression we need to compete in Conference USA. So, we’ve really got to look in the mirror, go back to the drawing board and get this thing figured out.”
On Tap
The Owls remain on the road and open Conference USA action Friday and Saturday at Old Dominion. Tipoff for both contests is set for 7 p.m. at Chartway Arena.
