Dec. 4, 2004
NORFOLK, VA -Isaiah Hunter (Charlotte, NC) and Alex Loughton (Perth, Australia) scored 14 points each to lead the Old Dominion men's basketball team to their first Colonial Athletic Association victory Saturday night, defeating William & Mary 69-56 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. Hunter came off the bench after missing ODU's game against VMI Wednesday night. ODU improves to 6-1 for the first time since the 1998-99 season, while William & Mary drops to 3-3.
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The Monarchs and Tribe were evenly matched in the first half, with both teams tied 12-12 at the 10:20 mark of the half. Valdas Vasylius (Klaipeda, Lithuania) hit a jumper moments later to give ODU the 14-12 lead. A fastbreak basket by John Morris (Camp Hill, PA) gave the Monarchs a 18-12 lead with 9:10 remaining in the half before William & Mary clawed their way back, taking a 21-20 lead off a Edwin Ofori Attah three-pointer. The Tribe had a 27-23 lead with just under two minutes left in the half before Alex Loughton and Isaiah Hunter combined for four points to tie the game up at 27-27 at the 1:34 mark. Drew Williamson (Burlington, NC) and Loughton made a pair of layups to give ODU the 31-27 lead before William & Mary's Corey Cofield made a layup in the closing seconds of the half. ODU went into the locker room with a 31-29 halftime lead.
Corey Cofield scored the first basket of the second half for the Tribe to tie the game at 31-31 before Isaiah Hunter gave the Monarchs the two-point lead, 33-31, off a jumper. With the game tied at 33-33, the Monarchs went on a 11-4 run, with Arnaud Dahi (Ivory Coast, Africa) making three lay-ups, to take the 44-37 lead with 15 minutes remaining in the game. The Tribe got the deficit down to four points, 48-44, with 10:17 left in the game, but ODU went on a 15-3 run to take a 16 point lead, 63-47, with 6:31 remaining. Kiah Thomas (Norfolk, VA/Granby) and Isaiah Hunter scored four points each during the run. The Tribe was never able to get closer than 12 points for the rest of the game as ODU took the 69-56 victory.
For the game, Isaiah Hunter and Alex Loughton scored 14 points each, Arnaud Dahi had 13 points and Kiah Thomas was in double figures with 12. Alex Loughton also had a game-high nine rebounds. William & Mary's Edwin Ofori Attah had a game-high 18 points, while Corey Cofield had 13 points and eight rebounds. The Monarchs only committed seven turnovers for the game, while William & Mary out-shot ODU 45.8% (22-of-48) to 37.3% (25-of-67).
The Monarchs are back in action Tuesday night, December 7, when they travel to Liberty for a 8:30 contest. ODU will travel to East Carolina Sunday, December 12, before returning home Saturday, December 18, to take on East Tennessee State.