PENSACOLA, Fla. — Xavier Brown scored a career-high 21 points to go along with 10 rebounds, and No. 2 seed James Madison topped No. 4 seed Arkansas State 91-71 on Monday night. night to claim the Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship and earn their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2013.
James Madison (31-3), which upset Texas State in the semifinals to record its first 30-win season in program history, extended its winning streak to 13 games. The Dukes began the season on a 14-game winning streak, beginning with an overtime victory over then-No. 4 Michigan State.
Arkansas State (18-16), making its first appearance in a Sun Belt championship game since 2007, was seeking its first NCAA tournament berth since 1999.
Brown, averaging 6.1 points per game, scored 19 points in the first 14 minutes, including 13 straight points from James Madison, to help build a 30-23 lead. He made his first seven shots before missing a 3-pointer with 5:22 left. Brown finished the half with 21, surpassing his previous best total score of 17 against Hampton on December 16.
Noah Freidel scored 2 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the second half, including a four-point play, and Terrence Edwards added another 3, off an offensive rebound, to make the score 54-39 with 16:09 left.
Edwards, the Sun Belt player of the year, finished with 19 points for JMU. Jaylen Carey scored 13 and Freidel 12. The Dukes finished 11 of 19 from deep, and their 62.5% field goal percentage was their highest in a game since Nov. 10, 2021, when they shot 64% against Carlow.
Freddy Hicks, who scored the game-winning goal in the semifinals against top-seeded Appalachian State, scored 24 points for Arkansas State. Izaiyah Nelson had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Caleb Fields and Taryn Todd each scored 10 points and five assists.
ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
