No. 22 James Madison prevails in nail-biter versus Southern Illinois

No. 22 JAMES MADISON 82, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 76

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, MX (AP) — Terrence Edwards scored 24 points, T.J. Bickerstaff added 19 points and No. 22 James Madison beat Southern Illinois on Tuesday in the Riviera Division of the Men’s Cancun Challenge to spoil Xavier Johnson's career-high 38-point performance.

James Madison (5-0), which collected a program-record 217 points in the AP Top 25 poll on Monday, will take on either Fresno State or New Mexico State in the Riviera championship game on Wednesday.

Edwards made a long jumper from the top of the key with 35.2 seconds left for a 79-74 lead. Johnson was short on a 3-pointer at the other end and Bickerstaff was fouled before making two free throws to make it 81-74.

Julien Wooden and Noah Freidel each had 10 points for James Madison. Edwards was 9 of 12 from the field and Bickerstaff was 8 of 12 to help JMU shoot 53 percent.

Johnson finished 11 of 20 from the field, including 4 of 9 from 3-point range, and 12 of 12 from the free-throw line for Southern Illinois (3-1). Johnson, who has made all 32 of his free-throw attempts this season, tied the Cancun Challenge record for single-game scoring, matching the 38 points of Norris Cole (Cleveland State, 2009) and Andrew Funk (Bucknell, 2021). AJ Ferguson, coming off a career-high 20 points in a victory over Chicago State, was held scoreless.

James Madison built an early 16-point lead in the first half before Johnson took over for Southern Illinois. The Salukis closed the first half on an 8-1 run to get within 40-39. Johnson finished the half with 22 points.

The Salukis were seeking their first win over a top-25 team since topping No. 22 Wichita State in 2013.

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