BOONE, N.C. – In its first home game of 2026, the App State men's basketball team raced ahead to a 12-0 lead less than three minutes into the game, which helped lead to a wire-to-wire 80-65 victory over the James Madison Dukes on Thursday at the Holmes Center. App State led from its first possession of the game to the final whistle in its return to Boone.
The Mountaineers (11-8, 4-3 SBC) were physical with the Dukes (9-9, 2-4 SBC) all game, which helped lead to a seven-rebound advantage for App State (38-31). Three different App State players finished their night with at least nine rebounds in
Alonzo Dodd (10),
Luke Wilson (nine) and
Michael Marcus Jr. (nine). Dodd's 10 rebounds went along with 23 points, which helped lead to his first career double-double.
App State shot the lights out from both the field and from behind the arc against the Dukes, as App State posted a 52.5 percent clip from the field and a 41.9 percent rate from 3-point land. App State's hot shooting night started with five straight makes from the field, which helped lead to its 12-0 start. Additionally, App State buried 13 3-pointers, its most since also making 13 against High Point on Dec. 14 and its second-most made threes in a home game (made 14 against Virginia-Lynchburg on Dec. 3). Three different players nailed at least three 3-pointers in
Kasen Jennings, Dodd and
Jalen Tot.
On top of scoring a career-best 23 points, Jennings set a personal milestone on Thursday by notching his 1,000th career collegiate point at the 3:38 mark of the second half. Jennings had just five points at halftime, but scored 18 of his 23 points to get to the significant milestone. The graduate guard from Atlanta has already set his career best for points in a season, and stands at 1,001 points after tonight's game.
How it Happened
App State started the game strong by winning the opening tip and scoring on its first possession thanks to a hook shot in the lane by Wilson. The Mountaineers forced a Justin McBride miss on the other end and scored 18 seconds later to quickly go up 4-0 just over a minute into the contest.
After another JMU miss, Dodd raced into the lane for a score to make it 6-0 after just three possessions, which forced a Preston Spradlin timeout. Wilson swatted his first of five shots after the timeout, and Tot took advantage of the fast-break opportunity by nailing a 3-pointer off a feed by Jennings in the corner. A scoreless possession by the Dukes that ended in a shot-clock violation turned into another 3-pointer, this time by Marcus Jr., which made it 12-0 at the 17:08 mark. JMU finally got on the scoreboard with a 3-pointer, but App State had made its mark early on in its first game at home since Dec. 20.
Dodd scored again before the first media timeout of the game, and Jennings answered a JMU score with his first points of the game to push App State ahead by 11. A 3-pointer by Jennings sent App State ahead by 12 for the second time in the game at the 12:56 mark, but JMU answered by scoring each of the next eight points to cut App State's lead down to four with 9:33 to play in the first half.
A slick move by
Jason Clarke Jr. sent action to the under-eight media timeout before Dodd connected on a 3-pointer to counter JMU's run and put the Mountaineers ahead by nine yet again. App State's lead grew back to double-digits after Marcus Jr. found the lane, but the Dukes answered by scoring four straight points to make it a six-point game at the final media timeout of the opening half.
The Mountaineers maintained their six-point lead as play neared halftime, but a late spurt, capped off by a Marcus Jr. tip-in layup and a Dodd 3-pointer, propelled App State into the break with an 11-point lead. The Mountaineers shot 51 percent from the floor in the opening half, while keeping James Madison to just a 29.4 percent mark on the defensive side.
App State started the second half in identical fashion to the first half, as a layup by Dodd and a transition three by Jennings capped off a 10-0 App State run to put it ahead by 16 at the 18:16 mark of the second half. JMU eventually cut its deficit back down to 10 by the first media timeout, but Dodd responded yet again by connecting on a 3-pointer to put App State back up 13 points with 15:34 to play in the game.
Threes apiece by Jennings and
Eren Banks helped App State maintain its double-digit lead as play hit the under-12 timeout, and Dodd eclipsed the 20-point threshold for the fifth time this season with a layup at the 10:49 mark of the second half. The Dukes did well to keep their deficit within 10 over the next several minutes, but App State eventually went ahead by 18 points after Wilson threw home a powerful dunk and Tot beat the shot clock with a dazzling 3-pointer.
Jennings' fifth 3-pointer of the game gave App State a 21-point lead with 3:38 to play in the game. This was also his 1,000th career basket. Although the Dukes scored eight of the game's final 10 points, a pair of Dodd free throws helped close out a double-digit win for the Mountaineers in the first game of a season-long four-game homestand.
Top Performers
Both Jennings and Dodd paced all scorers, with both tallying 23 points while also combining for 13 rebounds and seven assists. Dodd finished with his first career double-double after recording a career-best 10 rebounds, which makes him the fifth different Mountaineer to tally a double-double this season. Marcus Jr. was the third Mountaineer to finish in double figures against the Dukes, as he tallied 12 points and fell one rebound shy of a double-double. Wilson was electric on the defensive end as he blocked a career-best five shots to go along with eight points and nine rebounds.
Up Next
App State will continue its homestand on Saturday with the second regular-season matchup against the Old Dominion Monarchs. App State took home a win in Norfolk back on Dec. 31 in the first meeting between the two teams. Tip off from the Holmes Center is slated for 1 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
