Jan. 3, 2006
NORFOLK, VA--Sophomore guard Brian Henderson (Richmond, VA) netted a career-high 17 points, and the Old Dominion Monarchs used a barrage of second half three-pointers to overcome conference foe UNC-Wilmington 64-59 Tuesday night at the Ted Constant Center. With the victory, the Monarchs improve to 9-4 (2-1 conference) on the season. UNC-Wilmington drops to 9-5 (2-1) with the loss. Senior guard Isaiah Hunter added 16 points, including four clutch second-half treys.
The Seahawks jumped out to an early 15-8 lead with 9:50 left in the half, largely due to three treys drained by Todd Hendley, T.J. Carter, and John Goldsberry. Old Dominion would slowly chip away at the UNCW advantage, getting within two at 15-13 when Hunter finished a thunderous fast break dunk with 7:38 left in the first half. A layup with 3:24 remaining by Goldsberry would give the Seahawks a 23-17 lead but a lay-in and free throw from junior Abdi Lidonde (Sutton, MA) would get the Monarchs within three. ODU was cold from the floor in the first session, shooting 26.7% from the field, and trailed UNCW 25-22 going into the half.
In the second half, UNCW pulled ahead 33-24 with 17:07 remaining in the contest. ODU, despite going 0-12 from three-point land in the first half, decided to keep firing away from beyond the stripe, with different results in the second session. Treys by junior Valdas Vasylius (Klaipeda, Lithuania), Hunter, and Henderson brought the score to 35-33. UNCW next converted a foul shot, but Hunter nailed another trey to tie the ball game 36-36 with 15:03 left in the game. A Henderson lay in gave the Monarchs the lead, and Hunter along with sophomore Brandon Johnson (Orlando, FL) would sink consecutive three's to give ODU a 45-36 lead with 12:59 to go in regulation.
Old Dominion would earn their largest lead of the night, ten, after yet another Hunter trey gave the Monarchs a 56-46 advantage with 3:32 left to go. UNCW would threaten the rest of the half, but came no closer than a four point deficit.
Senior forward Alex Loughton (Perth, Australia) finished with a double-double, scoring ten points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Henderson's career-high scoring total came off of 5-9 shooting, and he also snared six rebounds.
Old Dominion shot 54.5% from the field in the second half, including draining 7 of 12 three-pointers. The Monarchs outrebounded UNCW 38-30, and blocked three shots while UNC-Wilmington failed to get one. Tonight's win was Old Dominion's seventh straight over the Seahawks.
For the Seahawks, T.J. Carter scored a game-high 19 points and connected on 3 of 8 three-point attempts. Beckham Wyrick pulled down eight rebounds.
ODU next travels to Towson for a Thursday night conference matchup. Game time is set for 7:30. The Monarchs return home this Saturday as they face Northeastern at the Ted Constant Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 12 noon.