CONWAY, S.C. — Coastal Carolina returns home Wednesday night to open its final homestand of the regular season, hosting James Madison at the HTC Center in the first of two meetings between the teams over the next two weeks. The Chanticleers will close the regular season at JMU on Feb. 27.

Fans are encouraged to wear black as the Chanticleers aim to clinch the program's first winning season since 2021-22 and record their ninth Sun Belt win, one shy of the program record. The first 350 students in attendance will receive a free black bucket hat.

Coastal Carolina (16-11, 8-6 Sun Belt) has won six of its last eight conference games and is coming off a 69-65 road victory at Louisiana, its fifth Sun Belt road win of the season. The Chanticleers led wire-to-wire as Joshua Beadle scored 29 points, making a career-high 11 free throws. AJ Dancler added 15 points with three 3-pointers, and Rasheed Jones finished with 10 as CCU went 20 of 23 at the stripe and held a 34-28 rebounding advantage.

The Chants are 7-4 at home this season and have relied on lineup continuity, starting the same five — Beadle, Dancler, Reggie Hill, Jones and Nadjrick Peat — in 25 consecutive games. Coastal has also been battle-tested in tight finishes, with 13 of its last 15 games decided by six points or fewer, posting a 9-4 record in those contests.

James Madison (14-13, 6-8) enters on a three-game winning streak after defeating Appalachian State 69-58 on Saturday. The Dukes average 73.1 points per game in Sun Belt play while shooting 45.3% from the field and holding league opponents to 40.4%. Justin McBride leads JMU at 16.8 points per game, followed by Cliff Davis (13.9) and Bradley Douglas (12.6). Davis ranks among the conference's top 3-point shooters at 38% and averages more than three made 3-pointers per game.

JMU has won all seven meetings in the series, including a 74-73 victory in Conway last season when the Dukes scored seven straight points in the closing minute before Jones' three-pointer at the buzzer set the final score.