Dec. 6, 2003
NORFOLK, VA - Alex Loughton (Perth, Australia) had a career night, with 45 points, the most points ever for a Monarch in the Division I level, as the Old Dominion men's basketball team dropped a 105-102 double-overtime game to the Charlotte 49ers Saturday night at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. The game marked ODU's second straight overtime game and third straight game that went down to the wire. Loughton's 45 points is tied for the second most in Colonial Athletic Association history, along with Navy's David Robinson. His previous career-high came in the Monarchs' previous game against Virginia Tech, with 24. Loughton also grabbed 15 rebounds in the effort. The Monarchs drop to 1-3 for the season, while the 49ers improve to 4-2.
The 49ers seemed to have the game in hand near the end of the second half, with a 78-70 lead with just under two minutes left in the game. The Monarchs, however, cut the deficit to just one points, 80-79, with 39 seconds left in regulation. Charlotte's Eddie Basden connected on his first free throw with six seconds left, but missed the second, setting up Drew Williamson's (Burlington, NC) tying layup with three seconds left in the game, to send the game into overtime, with both teams tied at 81. In the first overtime, Brendan Plavich hit a jumper to give the 49ers a quick 83-81 lead. ODU tied it up at 84-84, with two made free throws by Loughton, with 4:20 left in the period. With the score tied at 93, Alex Loughton made a jumper to give the Monarchs a 95-93 lead with just eight seconds left. A Eddie Basden layup, however, tied the score up at 95 a piece, to send the game into a second overtime.
ODU trailed by four points in the second overtime with 3:32 left before Troy Nance (Virginia Beach, VA) hit a three-pointer to bring the score to 99-98. A free throw by Loughton tied the game at 99 before Brendan Plavich made a three-pointer to give Charlotte a 102-99 lead. The Monarchs answered right back as Nance hit a three of his own to once again tie the game at 102. With the game still tied 102-102 with seven seconds left in the game, Brendan Plavich hit a three to give the 49ers a 105-102 lead. The Monarchs shot a long-distance three at the buzzer which bounced off the rim, sealing the 49ers' 105-102 victory.
The first half belonged to the Monarchs, as the 49ers never held the lead throughout the half. Drew Williamson's layup gave ODU an early 2-0 lead before Charlotte tied the game with 18:24 left in the half. The Monarchs went on a 10-0 run, grabbing a 12-2 lead by the 15:28 mark in the half, led by Loughton's five points. With 8:15 left in the half, ODU took their largest lead of the game-15-27-12. The 49ers came back to cut the lead to just five points, 31-26 with just under five minutes left in the half. The Monarchs stretched their lead back out to as many as 12 points, 42-30, at the 2:36 mark, and held a 10-points lead near halftime, before Charlotte's Brendan Plavich connected on a three with two seconds remaining. ODU took a 44-37 lead into the half.
Alex Loughton led all scorers with 23 points during the first half, off 10 of 13 shooting, including a perfect three for three from behind the arc.
Charlotte scored the first seven points of the second half to erase ODU's first half lead, tying the game at 44 with 17:40 left in the half. The Monarchs went on a 6-0 run to retake a 50-44 lead at the 16:06 mark, but the 49ers went on a 6-0 run of their own to tie the game at 50-50. Charlotte took their first lead of the game with 12:43 left in the half, with a 55-53 lead. Charlotte extended their lead to as much as 11, 70-59, with 5:53 remaining in the half. The 49ers still held a nine-point, 75-66 lead at the 3:53 mark, before the Monarchs began to cut away the deficit to just one point with 39 seconds left, 80-79. A made Charlotte free throw and a Drew Williamson layup tied the game up at 81, sending the game into the first of the overtimes.
Alex Loughton earned a double-double during the game, with 45 points and 15 rebounds. Loughton shot 17 of 23 from the field, including a perfect five of five from three-point range. Arnaud Dahi (Ivory Coast, Africa) scored 14 points in the Monarch effort followed by Isaiah Hunter's (Charlotte, NC) 12 points. John Waller, and Troy Nance scored 11 points each. Charlotte's Demon Brown led 49ers scorers with 26 points, followed by Brendan Plavich with 16, Eddie Basden with 14 and Curtis Withers with 13. For the game, the Monarchs shot 51.9% from the field, including 50% from three-point range. ODU shot 64.3% of their free throws.
The previous ODU Division I high was 44 points set in 1977 by Ronnie Valentine againstTulane. That was the Monarchs first year in Division I. The overall school mark is 67 setin 1968 by Bob Pritchett against RPI.
ODU breaks for exams and returns to action next Saturday, December 13, at home against Morgan State. Tip off is at 7:00 PM.
Post-Game Quotes:
Charlotte Head Coach Bobby Lutz
"Tonight was the most exciting game I've been apart of. Both teams played with great effort. It was a game that I expected. Old Dominion is young but very talented."
"Loughton had the best performance against a team I've ever headed or assisted. (I'm also including) when was at Clemson and coached against Len Bias. Loughton was special."
"If they're picked to finish sixth in the CAA, then their league is very good. If they play like that, they could beat teams in our league. They are a very good team."
Charlotte Junior Guard Brendan Plavich
On his game-winning shot"I'm a little guy, so I'm supposed to make shots. Coached called the play, and I went to the top of the key. Once it left my hands, I knew it was good."
Old Dominion Senior Forward John Waller
On ODU's comeback at the end of regulation."We want to believe in ourselves. If we work hard, we'll be back in the game. We stuck to our game plan."
Old Dominion Head Coach Blaine Taylor
"We had tremendous poise and fight. We kept calm. I loved being in the timeouts and looking into our kids' eyes."
"I thought our kids stood toe to toe with Charlotte. We out rebounded their much bigger team. We have talent on our side as well. I think we grew tonight. If we get better defensively, we are going to be a load. We're able to pick up the pieces, and that's what a team does."
On Loughton's 45-point performance."My hat's off to Alex. It's great being apart of his development both on and off the court. It's a pleasure seeing someone stretching his wings and becoming the player he could be."
"I don't think Alex wanted to score, but he wanted to win. He's so hard to guard because he gets others involved. He had six assists tonight. When they take away his shot, he can make other things happen."