LAS VEGAS - James Madison's basketball team hopes that what happened in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas.

Rayshawn Goins scored 15 points and Devon Moore tallied 13, all in the second half, to lead suddenly surging James Madison down the stretch to a 62-59 victory over San Diego on Sunday, giving the Dukes their fifth win in six games.

It was the second come-from-behind win for JMU in as many days at the Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic at MGM Grand Garden Arena, and the Dukes (6-6) reached .500 for the first time this season.

Madison didn't claim the lead for good until 1:54 remained, when Goins made two free throws for a 59-58 lead. That followed four straight points from Moore, who also made one free throw with 22 seconds left that put the Dukes up 60-58.

"In the first half, I was not aggressive," Moore said. "In the second half, the coaching staff told me to be aggressive and attack and try to make plays for myself and the team.

"All the credit to San Diego; they've got good guards who were pressuring me. I had a few turnovers in the first half. But I was able to make some plays [in the second half], and I'm thankful for that."

The Toreros' Ken Rancifer missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free-throw situation with seven seconds left, but he made the second shot to cut the Dukes' lead to 60-59.

A.J. Davis scored JMU's final basket on a pass from Charles Cooke with one second left.
"We fought the whole length of the game," James Madison coach Matt Brady said. "Previously, they relied on their spurtability. This was the first time we've been prepared mentally to grind out a win with defensive effort."

Goins scored the Dukes' last six points of the first half and seven of their first nine points in the second half. After Goins had his spurt, the Dukes owned a 42-37 lead.

But guard Johnny Dee then tallied the Toreros' next five points to complete his seven consecutive points, and the game was tied at 42 with 12:36 left.

The game was tied twice after that - at 44 and 50 - before the lead was exchanged three times. This led up to Goins' go-ahead free throw.

Madison owned a 33-30 halftime lead after starting off the game by falling into a 9-0 deficit. Dee scored the final seven points of that run.

Andre Nation scored the Dukes' first two points at the free-throw line with 15:28 left in the first half. Then, Ron Curry scored the Dukes' next eight points on two consecutive 3-pointers and a bank-shot jumper that cut the Toreros' lead to 15-10.

The Dukes immediately went on a 10-4 run that gave them their first lead at 20-19. Davis came off the bench and supplied six points during that run.

JMU, which beat San Jose State 77-68 here Saturday, got 11 points and four steals from Davis on Sunday.

San Diego (6-8), which lost an 86-79 decision to Oregon State here on Saturday, was led by Dee with 18 points. Rancifer was next with 11 while Chris Manresa followed with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

"I was real proud of our guys' defensive intensity," Brady said. "We made a couple mistakes, and A.J. had a couple plays he could have made and didn't. But we hung in there and persevered, which is a sign of growth for our team.

"The great thing about Devon is that you want your seniors to go out with a significant season, and he's having a great season. Now, we just need to keep him healthy. He's a great leader, a good teammate and he helped close these last two games out."

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