Nov. 15, 2003
NORFOLK, VA (Nov. 15, 2003) - The Old Dominion men's basketball team defeated BC Sakalai Lithuania 88-79 in overtime Saturday night at the Ted Constant Convocation Center, to finish exhibition play undefeated. Six Monarchs were in double-figures, with Isaiah Hunter's (Charlotte, NC) 17 leading the way. Alex Loughton (Perth, Australia) had a double-double for the Monarchs, with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Arnaud Dahi (Ivory Coast, Africa) also had a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
In the first half, Sakalai, a team located in Lithuania's capital city, jumped out to an early 8-3 lead, but Old Dominion would strike back with a 7-0 run to retake the lead at the 17:18 mark. Sakalai's Aiva Kiausas answered the Monarchs run with a dunk to tie the game at 10 a piece. From that point on ODU and Sakalai had a seesaw battle that included 11 lead changes. The latest lead change came when ODU held a one point advantage after a Isaiah Hunter (Charlotte, NC) layup with 6:22 left in the half. Kiausas responded with a 3-pointer to put Sakalai back in front, 30-28-a lead that Sakalai wouldn't lose for the rest of the half. Old Dominion would tie the game again, 35-35, with 39 seconds left, but two made free throws by Rolandas Skaisgirys in the closing second gave Sakalai a 37-35 halftime lead.
Kiausas led all scorers with 13 points at the break. Senior forward John Waller (Richmond, VA) led the Monarchs with 10 points on 4 of 7 shooting. Sakalai shot 55 percent from 3-point territory on 5 of 9 shooting. The Monarchs were 3 of 10 from 3-point land in the half.
A three-pointer by Rolandas Skaisgirys started the scoring in the second half as Sakalai opened up a five point advantage with 18:52 left in the half. Two straight layups by Arnaud Dahi gave the Monarchs their first lead of the half, 43-42 at the 16 minute mark of the half. Sakalai answered back, though, with a three-pointer by Rolandas Vaicius to retake a 45-43 lead. ODU quickly retook the lead and took a six point advantage off a John Waller layup, 55-49 with 12:58 left in the half. Still leading by six, 61-55, at the seven minute mark, Mindaugas Sakalauskas hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to three, 61-58.
With the Monarchs leading by one, 65-64, Skaisgirys connected on two consecutive layups to give Sakalai a 68-65 edge with 3:34 left. A three-pointer by Isaiah Hunter brought ODU to within one point of Sakalai, 69-68, with 3:02 remaining, and two made free throws by Dahi gave the Monarchs the lead with 2:26 left in the half. Troy Nance hit two more free throws to give ODU a 72-69 edge with 2:19 remaining. Rolandas Skaisgirys connected on a three-pointer at the two minute mark to tie the game up at 72-72. A Alex Loughton layup and two made Sakalai free throws ended regulation, with both teams tied 74-74. In the second half, the Monarchs shot 15 of 44 for 34.1 percent, while Sakalai shot 46.7 percent (14 of 30). Sakalai connected on four of nine three-pointers, while the Monarchs managed one.
In the overtime period, the Monarchs were dominant, out-scoring Sakalai 14-5. Alex Loughton led the way with four points and two rebounds. For the game, Sakalai's Rolandas Skaisgirys led all scorers with 20 points. The Monarchs were led by Isaiah Hunter's 17, followed by Alex Loughton's 16, Arnaud Dahi's 15, John Waller's and Troy Nance's 12 and Valdas Vasylius' 11. Loughton had a double-double, adding 16 rebounds to his 16 points. The Monarchs held a 57-35 rebounding edge, while Sakalai had 27 turnovers to ODU's 17. Sakalai shot 47.6 percent of their three-pointers (10 of 21) for the game.
BC Sakalai Lithuania will next take on American University Sunday, November 15 before heading to American on Sunday, then Virginia Tech Monday night, November 17. The Monarchs kick off their regular season next Saturday, November 22, taking on North Carolina.