Dec. 18, 2003
NORFOLK, VA - John Waller's (Richmond, VA) career-high 24 points and Alex Loughton's (Perth, Australia) 20 points and perfect foul shooting led the Old Dominion men's basketball team to victory Thursday night, defeating Liberty 87-66 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. Isaiah Hunter (Charlotte, NC) also grabbed a career-high six rebounds during the contest as ODU improves to 3-4 for the season, while the Liberty Flames drop to 3-7.
After a Louvon Sneed jumper gave Liberty a quick 2-0 lead early in the first half, John Waller scored the next seven points of the game to put Old Dominion up 7-2 by the 18:41 mark. With ODU still ahead 13-8, the Flames used a 9-0 run to grab a 17-13 lead by the 11:39 mark of the half. The Monarchs came back, however, and off a 14-3 run, took a 27-20 lead with 6:03 remaining. ODU extended their lead to 13 points, 38-25 by the 2:14 mark and carried a 14-point advantage, 44-30, into halftime. At the half, Waller had 16 points and Alex Loughton contributed 14.
The Monarchs quickly built on their lead in the second half, extending to a 22-point lead, 55-33 by the 17:18 mark of the half. A Brian Woodson three-pointer cut the ODU lead to 19 points, 55-36, but the Monarchs once again extended their lead to 26 points, 65-39, with 10:33 remaining in the game. With 5:26 left in the game, Liberty cut the Monarch lead to 20 points, 69-49, and once again to 20 points, 71-51, at the 4:51 mark. The Flames could only get to within 18 points of ODU, 79-61, at the 3:03 mark of the half, before ODU extended their lead to 21 points, 87-66 in the final minutes, leading to the Monarch victory.
For the game, John Waller led all scorers with 24 points off a career-high 11 field goals and also grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double, while Alex Loughton added 20 points (going a perfect 10 of 10 from the free throw line) and a career-high three blocks. Valdas Vasylius (Klaipeda, Lithuania) was also in double-figures for the Monarchs with 11 points. Arnaud Dahi (Ivory Coast, Africa) grabbed 11 rebounds, marking the second consecutive game he grabbed double-figure rebounds. Gabe Martin led Liberty scorers with 19 points, followed by Larry Blair's 16. ODU shot 45.1% from the field during the game (32 of 71), while Liberty shot 39.7% (25 of 63). ODU also held a 48-36 rebounding edge, while committing eight fewer turnovers (21-13). The Monarchs next play against the Colonials of George Washington University Saturday, December 20. Tip-off is at 7:00 PM.