Nov. 9, 2003
NORFOLK, VA - (Nov. 9, 2003) The Old Dominion men's basketball team broke the century mark in defeating the EA Sports East All-Stars Sunday afternoon 106-65 as the Monarchs continued exhibition play. The Monarchs were led by John Waller's (Richmond, VA) 26 points. Four other ODU players were in double-figures, with Isaiah Hunter (Charlotte, NC) contributing 17 points, Alex Loughton (Perth, Australia) and Troy Nance (Virginia Beach, VA) dropping 13 each and Valdas Vasylius (Klaipeda, Lithuania) adding 11.
The Monarchs got things started in the first half, grabbing a quick 7-2 lead over the All-Stars, capped by a 3-pointer by Isaiah Hunter (Charlotte, NC). EA Sports bounced back to come within one point of ODU, 9-8, at the 15:48 mark with Paul Shirley making a jumper and two lay ups in the run. The Monarchs made a basket and a pair of free throws to take a five-point advantage, 13-8 with 14:52 left in the half, but the All-Stars would once again pull to within one point of the Monarchs, 16-15, at the 12:27 mark. ODU then went on a 13-4 run to take a 29-19 lead with 8:07 left in the half.
ODU pulled out to a 12-point advantage with 5:52 remaining in the half, leading 34-22, but EA Sports went on an 11-5 run to come within six points of the Monarchs, 39-33, with 1:55 left in the half. A 9-2 Monarch run ended the first half, giving ODU a 48-35 halftime advantage. Isaiah Hunter led Monarch scorers in the first half, scoring 11 points. John Waller had nine points and Alex Loughton had eight. Troy Nance had four assists. EA Sports had two double-figure first half scorers, with Al Faux scoring 14 and Paul Shirley contributing 12 points. ODU held a 21-13 rebounding edge and out-shot the All-Stars 54.3 percent to 48.5 percent. The Monarchs were six of nine (66.7%) from behind the arc in the first half, while EA Sports shot three of seven (42.9%).
The Monarchs kept things rolling in the second half, out-scoring EA Sports 58-30 and connecting on seven three-pointers. ODU quickly went on a 28-6 run to take a 66-41 lead with 14:06 left in the game. EA Sports never got closer than 24 points to ODU-at the 11:22 mark-for the remainder of the game. Leading by 27 points, 78-51, with 9:22 remaining, the Monarchs went on a 12-0 run to grab a 90-51 lead, for a 39 point advantage. Continuing to dominate, ODU out-scored the All-Stars by two points for the remainder of the game to take the 106-65 victory, a 41-point victory.
In the half, ODU shot 63.9 percent to EA Sports' 31.3 percent and shot seven of 12 three-pointers (58.3%). John Waller led all scorers in the half with 17 points. For the game, ODU out-shot the All-Stars 59.2 percent to 40 percent and out-rebounded EA Sports 51 to 24. ODU connected on 13 three-pointers in the game, including seven in the second half.
The EA Sports All-Star team came into the game fresh off a 80-74 win over St. John's Saturday night. They next travel to Cincinnati Tuesday, November 11 and to Kentucky Wednesday, November 12. ODU returns to action Saturday, November 15, taking on Lithuania at 7:00 PM, as the Monarchs conclude exhibition play. ODU travels to North Carolina Saturday, November 22 to kick off the regular season.