South Alabama’s Kevin Samuel had to do a quick mental reset after getting called for traveling in the closing seconds vs. James Madison on Thursday night, but one of the top shot-blockers in college basketball history had one more big defensive play left in him.

Samuel blocked Justin Amadi’s hook shot underneath the basket and Owen White came up with the loose ball as the Jaguars (8-9, 2-3 Sun Belt Conference) held on for a 63-62 victory over the Dukes at the Mitchell Center. It was one of five blocks on the night for the 7-foot Samuel, whose 345 career rejections ranks No. 49 all-time in NCAA Division I basketball.

“It’s something that I take to heart, trying to be a defensive anchor for our team,” said Samuel, who ended the night with eight points and nine rebounds in addition to his five blocks. “… I try not to worry about (the turnover) and just work on the second play. You have such a short turnaround to the next play in a game, so you just want to make up for it on the next play.

“It’s good to get that win, just to get a win under our belt. You always want to protect home court.”

The late defensive stop salvaged what could have been a disastrous loss for South Alabama, which led by as many as 13 points in the second half and by six at 63-57 with less than 90 seconds remaining after Jamar Franklin drained a 3-pointer. James Madison (11-7, 2-3) scored five straight points to cut the lead to one, and had multiple chances to take the lead.

The Dukes took possession after Samuel missed a turnaround jumper with 13 seconds remaining, but Samuel stripped JMU’s Terrence Edwards of the ball and knocked it out of bounds. The Dukes inbounded the ball with 7.5 seconds to play, but White got a hand on a loose ball and tapped it Samuel.

The big man lost his balance, however, and fell to the court with 4.5 seconds left for South Alabama’s 20th turnover of the night. The Dukes ran the same play on the ensuing inbounds, but Samuel were there again to snuff it out.

“(Samuel) changed a lot of shots, not just the blocks,” South Alabama coach Richie Riley said. “And that’s what he does. When he’s activated in there, he changes a lot of shots. There’s not really a stat for changed shots, but that’s the advantage of having a guy like him in there.”

South Alabama threatened to run away with the game for much of the night, jumping on top by 12 with 4:59 left in the first half after Judah Brown hit two 3-pointers and Franklin hit another. The lead settled at 33-24 at halftime, but the Jaguars pushed it to 39-26 early in the second half and were still up by double digits inside the 14-minute mark.

James Madison — which ranked second in the country in scoring at 86.5 points per game coming in — then made its move, going on a 7-2 run to make it a five-point game with 11:21 left. Samuel’s dunk put the Jaguars up 55-47 with 6:51 left, but JMU’s Vado Morse drained a 3-pointer and Tyree Ihenacho hit a pair of free throws to pull the Dukes within three at 55-52 with 5:38 remaining.

White answered with a 3-pointer, but Ihenacho’s longball made it 60-57 with 2:43 to play. Franklin’s triple from the top of the key — part of an 11-point night for the freshman — made it 63-57 with 1:34 left, setting up the wild finish.

“I was really confident with it when coach Riley was drawing up the plays for me,” Franklin said. “He knew I was going to hit the shots and I knew I was going to hit them too, so he drew them up for me. I took the moment and owned it.”

Isaiah Moore led South Alabama with 16 points and five assists, while Tyrell Jones added 10 points and four rebounds. White scored just three points, but chipped in seven rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot.

Edwards scored a game-high 20 points for JMU, while Ihenacho had 11 and Julian Wooden 10. The Dukes missed their first 13 3-point attempts, and made just 3 of 19 in the game.

“Our guys found a way to win,” Riley said. “It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t pretty, but they dug deep and found a way to beat a really good team. James Madison’s good. I’m just really proud of our guys.”

Riley dedicated the victory to the late Hal Williams, a long-time South Alabama athletic department staffer who died Tuesday at 71 after suffering cardiac arrest . Williams, a former golf coach and associate athletics director at USA, who remained a constant presence around Jaguar athletics after retiring in 2018.

Williams was honored with a pre-game moment of silence, with his wife, Kathryn, and several other family members in attendance. South Alabama set up a special display at his seat in the Mitchell Center, with Williams’ trademark cigar, sweater vest and a No. 30 jersey with the name “Hal” on the back.

“Hal Williams, in my five years here, was the ‘ultimate Jag,’” Riley said. “I absolutely love him. He was so good to me, from my (introductory) press conference — he was one of the first people I met here — to the last time I saw him. I’ve been thinking about, since I got the news, how it was going to feel to come in here for a game and not see him. … It felt weird tonight. … That guy, what he’s meant to this program and this university and the lives that he’s touched, he’s second to none.”

South Alabama finishes its four-game homestand at 3 p.m. Saturday, when Louisiana visits the Mitchell Center.