HARRISONBURG, Va. – Using clutch shots late and stellar defense all game long, the App State Men's Basketball team (11-7, 5-2 SBC) ran their win streak to five, defeating the James Madison Dukes on their home floor in a defensive slugfest, 58-50. Despite enduring a 12-2 run to close the first half, the Mountaineers outscored the Dukes by eight points in the final half to close out a season sweep of James Madison for the second consecutive season.
App State's defense was brilliant again on Saturday as it held the Dukes to just 50 points, the fewest they have scored in a home game this season. It was the 10th consecutive game that App State hasn't let an opponent get to 70 points against it while also being the 20th straight win by the Mountaineers in which they hold their opponents to less than 60 points.
Dior Conners stepped up huge in the win over James Madison as he tallied 18 points on a season-best six made 3-pointers. Conners accounted for each of App State's first nine points and delivered the dagger with just two minutes to play to seal the victory. As it stands at the conclusion of the game, Conners' six made threes are the third-highest tally in a game by a Sun Belt player this season.
On top of the performance from Conners, the Mountaineers made 10 3-pointers as a team against the Dukes on just 20 attempts, marking the fourth time in the last five games that App State has drilled 10 or more threes. During App State's five-game winning streak, it is shooting 48-104 from deep which is good for a 48 percent clip. Saturday also marked the Mountaineer's eighth game this season with at least 10 3-pointers, the most instances since the 2022-23 season.
How it Happened
In the Mountaineers' sixth trip to Harrisonburg in program history, the Dukes got on the scoreboard first, using an Elijah Hutchins-Everett basket to tally the game's first score. James Madison quickly made it 5-0 with a three at the 18:12 mark as the Mountaineers struggled to find their footing early.
App State scored its first bucket of the contest with 17:34 to play in the first as Conners got loose in the corner and drained his first three. Conners struck again from deep to make it 7-6 and then drilled his third three in his first three attempts to give App State its first lead of the game at 9-7 by the first media break, a lead App State wouldn't relinquish the rest of the game.
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