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Box Score (PDF)

HARRISONBURG, VA. – Andre Nation scored on a lob dunk with 2.3 seconds to play and James Madison edged Campbell 63-61 Tuesday night at the JMU Convocation Center.

Campbell (1-5) nearly won at the final horn when Kyre' Hamer's 27-footer was on line, but hit the front of the rim and fell off.

Andrew Ryan led four Camels in double figures with a season-high 18 points.  D.J. Mason added 13 – 10 in the second half – while Reco McCarter chipped in 11 and Hamer 10 for CU, which battled back from an eight-point deficit in the final five minutes to tie the score twice in the last 1:36.

Hamer's left-handed layup in traffic tied the score at 61 with 49 seconds to play. On the next possession, Ron Curry drove into the paint, but his off-balance leaner missed and Curtis Phillips pulled down the rebound to give Campbell the ball and the shot clock off. 

However, Mason was called for an illegal screen – his fifth personal foul – with 6.3 to play.  Curry took the inbound pass, dribbled into the front court and lobbed the ball to Nation, who broke free off the left baseline for what proved to be the winning bucket.

Nation, the Colonial Athletic Association pre-season player of the year, came of the bench to lead JMU (5-2) with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting.  Curry added 13 points and 6 assists, Jackson Kent had 11, including 3 threes.  Winston Gray and Yohanny Dalembert (10 rebounds) added 10 apiece for the Dukes, who won for the fifth time in their last six outings.

"I'm so proud of our team's effort tonight.  We played well enough to win, got a clean shot and had the ball on the rim on the road against a good CAA team," said Campbell head coach Kevin McGeehan.  "We showed a lot of grit tonight and started to form an identity."

The Camels took advantage of 17 James Madison turnovers to grab a 23-13 edge in points-off turnovers, while also claiming a 14-5 edge in second-chance points.  Campbell shot 45 percent (23-51) on the night, hit 5-of-19 threes and 10-of-15 from the line.

Ryan finished 3-of-8 from 3-point distance, 3-of-4 inside the arc – including a two-fisted slam on a backdoor cut – and 3-of-3 from the stripe to eclipse his previous season-best showing, a 17-point effort last week at Ohio State.  In addition to scoring in double digits for the sixth-straight game, Mason dished a career-high 4 assists.  McCarter made 5-of-6 shots from the floor.

Trailing 30-22 at the half, the Camels saw the deficit reach 10 (34-24) on Curry's bucket with 18:14 to go.  Rod Day's trey ignited a 12-2 Campbell burst capped by Mason's season and lay-up to tie the score at 36 with 13:40 remaining.  JMU stretched the gap to 59-51 on Winston Gray's basket with 4:58 remaining.

The Camels made five-straight defensive stops and started an 8-0 burst on Ryan's back-door lay-up from Mason's feed.  Curtis Phillips drove into the lane and banked in a short jumper to tie the score at 59.  Nation made a pair from the line to again push JMU in front with 1:05 remaining to set up the final sequence.

Campbell jumped to a 15-4 lead – thanks in part to a pair of Ryan treys and a triple from McCarter, whose baseline drive with 13:30 left in the opening half gave CU its largest edge of the night.  After Ryan's lay-in, the Camels led 17-7 with 10:40 to play.

However, JMU answered with a 16-0 run, capped by back-to-back threes from Nation and Kent, to take a 23-17 lead with 4:59 to go.  McCarter's 15-foot jumper ended a 5:58 drought for the Camels, but the hosts led 30-22 at the break thanks to 52 percent (11-21) shooting, including 4-9 threes, in the opening half.

After a break for final exams, the Camels return to action Monday at home in a 7:00 p.m. start against Johnson & Wales.