March 6, 2004
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Isaiah Hunter scored 19 points Saturday and OldDominion never trailed after the first five minutes of the game, defeatingHofstra 82-68 in the quarterfinals of the Colonial Athletic Associationtournament.
Alex Loughton scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Monarchs(17-11), who hit on its first seven shots of the game and led 44-32 at thehalf.
Loren Stokes scored a game-high 23 points for Hofstra, but the Pride (14-15)shot less than 38 percent, compared to 54.2 percent by the Monarchs.
Hofstra narrowed the lead to 76-68 on a 3-pointer by Aurimas Kieza with 1:54to play, but the Monarchs made six straight free throws down the stretch forthe final margin.
Old Dominion advances to the CAA semifinals against top-seeded Va.Commonwealth on Sunday.
Arnaud Dahi and Kiah Thomas scored 12 points each for the Monarchs, who helda 42-31 rebounding edge. Freshman Drew Williamson dished out a career high eight assists,while Thomas was a perfect four-for-four from the floor.
Kieza had 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Kenny Adeleke added 11.
The top seed Rams won both games this year from ODU. VCU defeated ODu in the ConstantCenter, 75-67, the at VCU, 78-72. The Rams have beaten ODU eight straight times.This is the first time since 2000-01 that ODU has advanced to the CAA semi-finalround.