Box Score HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison erased a six-point lead in the last few minutes of the game, but a career night from junior Jeff Short and some late heroics by senior Jamel Fuentes in overtime gave the Norfolk State men's basketball team a 74-71 win on Monday night at the JMU Convocation Center.
 
The Spartans had a six-point lead with less than three minutes in regulation, but Ron Curry hit a pair of free throws and then a short jumper in the paint to tie it up at 65-65. Short's last-second 3-point attempt fell short, swinging momentum to JMU's favor as the teams went into the extra session.
 
In overtime, senior Malik Thomas scored his only points of the game with a 3-pointer from the left wing to put NSU up by three with less than three and a half minutes to go. Curry tied it up with a trey of his own on JMU's next possession, and after Yohanny Dalembert went 1-of-2 from the line with a minute left, the score remained tied at 71-71.
 
With time running down in NSU's next possession, Fuentes drove from the left wing into the lane, hitting a seven-foot jumper with just 27.1 seconds left. After the Dukes came away empty on their possession, Fuentes hit 1-of-2 from the line with 9.6 seconds on the clock for a three point edge.
 
Coming out of a timeout with 6.0 seconds left, the Dukes could not get a clean look from 3, and Andre Nation's desperation heave only hit the backboard as time expired.
 
Short finished with a career-high 30 points on 9-of-19 shooting to go with eight rebounds, leading NSU to a big victory over a Colonial Athletic Association opponent. The victory moved NSU's record to 9-5 overall, tied for the program's best start in the Division I era. It marked the Spartans' third straight win of the season, and seventh in the last nine games.
 
The Spartans clamped down on defense after intermission. JMU (7-5) led by six at the break after shooting 50 percent in the first half. NSU held the Dukes to just 9-of-33 shooting after halftime, including a 1-of-8 effort in overtime.
 
The Spartans, meanwhile, connected on 14-of-22 after the intermission. They finished the game 25-of-48 overall (52.1 percent).
 
The Spartans scored the first seven points of the second half to take the lead back and prompt a JMU timeout. Dalembert hit four straight free throws to give the Dukes the edge. NSU then grabbed the lead right back on junior RaShid Gaston's layup at the 11:08 mark, part of a momentum swing in favor of the Spartans. Junior D'Shon Taylor extended the lead on a layup with the harm, senior Paulius Vinogradovas threw down a dunk and then freshman Jordan Butler had a big block on other end as NSU went up by five, 51-46, with exactly eight minutes left.
 
Fuentes found Butler for back-to-back layups to keep the lead at five. Curry drained a trey on the other end with 5:22 on the clock to cut NSU's advantage to just two. A short time later, Taylor and Short each hit a pair of free throws to put the Spartans up by six.
 
Curry hit two free throws and then a jumper in the lane with 19.5 seconds for the last points of regulation.
 
Taylor scored 11 points on the night, while Butler and Gaston each tallied 10. Gaston also had his eighth double-double in the last nine games after grabbing 12 boards before fouling out late in regulation. Butler, meanwhile, had four rebounds and three blocks.
 
Fuentes finished the game with six points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
 
Short hit a pair of 3-pointers to get the Spartans on the board to start the game, while Jackson Kent drained a trio of treys of his own to keep the game close. Short and Gaston then converted layups 40 seconds part to put NSU up 19-15 at 8:39.
 
Dalembert came in for the tip-in slam to finish a three-minute, 14-2 run for the Dukes, pushing their advantage to 29-21 with just 5:15 to go. A 3-pointer by Nation put JMU up by 10, but the Dukes went scoreless for the last three minutes of the half. Butler's layup and two free throws by senior LaTre'e Russell cut the JMU lead to 34-28 going into the half.
 
NSU outscored James Madison by nine the rest of the way.
 
Kent had 17 points, including 13 in the first half, to lead JMU. Dalembert and Curry added 15 and 13 points, respectively, with Dalembert also tallying a team-best nine boards.
 
The Spartans held a 38-29 edge on the boards, outblocked JMU by a 9-1 margin and outscored the Dukes 36-24 in points in the paint.
 
JMU finished the game 21-of-57 overall (36.8 percent), including 8-of-22 from 3-point range.
 
Short scored the most points by an NSU player since Malcolm Hawkins had 31 against North Carolina Central on March 6, 2014.
 
Following the holiday break, NSU will travel out to Texas to play at Baylor on Dec. 30.