Men's Basketball (1-6, 0-0 MAC) lost to the No. 22 James Madison Dukes (7-0, 0-0 SBC) 81-66, at Atlantic Union Bank Center on Wednesday night. The Bulls’ only victory so far this season came against the Division-II Roberts Wesleyan Redhawks (2-4, 1-0 ECC) on Nov. 15.
The Bulls struggled with ball security in the loss Wednesday, recording 18 turnovers compared to the Dukes’ 8. James Madison scored 23 points off UB turnovers in the 15-point win.
The Bulls quickly fell to a 13-point deficit early in the first half. They did narrow the gap with the help of some solid defense, but never managed to gain a lead. The closest they got was when senior forward Sy Chatman, UB’s leading scorer this season (15.1 points per game), hit a three-point jumper to make the score 14-15. By the end of the half, the Bulls were down by 13 again, 24-37.
In the second half, UB’s deficit grew to as many as 20 points, mostly at the hands of the Dukes’ senior forward T.J. Bickerstaff, who led James Madison with 18 points.
Chatman led all scorers with 19 in the loss, and freshman guard Ryan Sabol added 15 for the Bulls. UB shot 24-53 (45.2%) on field goals, and 9-26 (34.6%) on threes. James Madison went 31-64 (48.4%) on field goals and 10-26 (38.4%) on threes.
The Bulls head back home to Alumni Arena to play the St. Bonaventure Bonnies (4-2, 0-0 A-10) on Saturday at 2p.m. The game can be streamed live on ESPN+.
The sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com
