Dec. 22, 2004
NORFOLK, Va. - Junior Guard Isaiah Hunter's (Charlotte, NC) 18 points helped lead the Old Dominion men's basketball team to a 66-62 victory over St. Joseph's Wednesday night at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. With the win, the Monarchs improve to a school best 11-1, while the Hawks of St. Joseph's fall to 3-4. Arnaud Dahi (Ivory Coast, Africa) had 17 points for ODU, while Valdas Vasylius (Klaipeda, Lithuania) chipped in 12. Chet Stachitas had a game-high 19 points for St. Joseph's.
The Monarchs trailed early in the first half, 5-2, after St. Joseph's Chet Stachitas hit a three-pointer at the 18:08 mark of the half. Arnaud Dahi answered with a three-pointer of his own seconds later to tie the game at 5-5, and the game was tied at 9-9 at the 14:34 mark before Isaiah Hunter's lay-up gave ODU the 11-9 lead. Brian Henderson (Richmond, VA) extended the lead to 13-9 with a fastbreak jumper just seconds later. By the 6:55 mark of the half, the Monarchs had a seven point lead, 21-14, capped by Isaiah Hunter's three-pointer, but the Hawks narrowed the lead down to just three points, 24-21, at the 6:11 mark. A three-pointer by Chet Stachitas tied the game at 24-24 with 4:42 remaining in the half, and Dwayne Lee's jumper at the 3:32 mark gave the Hawks the 26-24 advantage. Kiah Thomas (Norfolk, VA/Granby) tied the game at 26-26 before St. Joseph's Stachitas connected on a jumper to grab the 28-26 lead for St. Joseph's. Lay-ups by Valdas Vasylius and Arnaud Dahi gave ODU the 30-28 halftime edge.
Drew Williamson made a lay-up in the first seconds of the second half to extend ODU's lead to four points, 32-28, and the lead was extended to six points, 37-31, with 17:22 left in the game, but by the 13:46 mark of the half, St. Joseph's tied the game at 41-41, off a Chet Stachitas three-pointer. The Monarchs grabbed a six point lead, 49-43, at the 10:23 mark, and had a 10-point lead, 59-49, at the 5:31 mark, but the Hawks rallied back to cut the lead down to just three points, 63-60, off a Pat Carroll three-pointer with just over a minute left in the game. Valdas Vasylius connected on a free throw with 33 seconds left, to give ODU the 64-60 lead, and Alex Loughton (Perth, Australia) connected on a free throw of his own to give the Monarchs a 65-60 lead, but the Hawk's Chet Stachitas' lay-up with four seconds left once again cut the lead down to three points, 65-62. A free throw by Kiah Thomas sealed the game for the Monarchs, giving ODU the 66-62 victory.
For the game, Isaiah Hunter led the Monarchs in scoring with 18, while Arnaud Dahi had 17 and Valdas Vasylius had 12. Alex Loughton, limited to just two points during the game, grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. For St. Joseph's, Chet Stachitas had a game-high 19 points, Pat Carroll had 17 and Dwayne Jones had a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 16 rebounds.
ODU shot over 50% (52%) for the fifth time this season and for the third straight game. The Monarchs had 16 steals during the game, compared to just two for the Hawks.
The Monarchs return to action Sunday, January 2, when they travel to Chicago to take on DePaul at 4:00.