Feb. 15, 2006
NORFOLK, VA- Senior Alex Loughton recorded his seventh double-double of the year, scoring 19 points and hauling in 12 rebounds as the Old Dominion Monarchs cruised to a 76-54 over CAA foe Georgia State Wednesday night at the Ted Constant Center. Junior forward Arnaud Dahi (Ivory Coast, Africa) contributed 18 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks. ODU improves to 18-8 (11-5) on the season, and coupled with VCU's loss to T
In the first half, Georgia State's Rashad Chase dropped in a lay-up to give the Panthers an early 11-8 lead, before two baskets by Loughton gave the Monarchs a 12-11 advantage with 12:03 left in the half. Deven Dickerson followed that by sinking two free throws to give Georgia State a 13-12 lead, before sophomore Brian Henderson (Richmond, VA) drilled a trey to put the Monarchs up for good 15-13 as they would not give up their lead the rest of the contest. A Dahi lay-in put the Monarchs up 23-13 with less than six minutes remaining the session, but the Panthers would claw back and they went into the locker room at halftime only down by four, 28-24.
The Monarchs controlled the second half of action, as an Isaiah Hunter (Charlotte, NC) put the Monarchs up 40-27 with 14:57 left. ODU would continue to build a sizabe lead, reaching their crescendo with 3:16 left as a Loughton layup put the score at 71-46. Chase and Herman Favors would nail treys for the Panthers in the closing minutes, as the final score ended at 75-56.
Old Dominion controlled the boards against the Panthers, snaring 46 team rebounds compared to Georgia State's 30. ODU also shot .475% from the field, including .600% in the second half as the team scored 47 points. The Monarchs dished out 24 assists, led by junior guard Drew Williamson (Burlington, NC) who tied his career-high with nine assists. Williamson also pulled down five rebounds to contribute to the Monarchs rebounding effort.
Loughton shot 9-15 from the field, and his 12 boards pushed him past Monarch great Chris Gatling to eighth place on ODU's all-time list for career rebounds with 878.
Malcolm Manier led Georgia State with 13 points, including 4-5 from three-point land, while Leonard Mendez added ten points. Deven Dickerson led the visiters in rebounds with six.
ODU makes it's second consecutive weekend appearance on ESPN2 this comingSaturday as the Monarchs host Marist as part of ESPN's Bracket Buster event. Tip-off is slated for 4:00 p.m. Fans are asked to wear white ODU shirts as part of an arena wide "White Out".