Nov. 25, 2006
NORFOLK, VA -- The Monarchs used an eight point run early in the second half powered by Brian Henderson's sharp shooting to put away the Richmond Spiders Saturday afternoon. Valdas Vasylius led the Monarchs with 19 points coming off the bench for just the second time this season. The win hands Richmond its first loss of the season and ends a five-game losing streak against the Spiders for ODU. The overall series record between the rivals runs in favor of the Monarchs 27-20.
Sometimes the key moment is a big shot out of a timeout. Sometimes the key moment is a big defensive stand. In Saturday's game against Richmond University (3-1), Old Dominion University (5-1) found its key moment when Richmond missed two wide open layups.
The Spiders had fought back within two at one point and were down just six with 12:03 remaining. Spider guard David Brewster stole the ball and had a open look at the basket but missed his dunk off the front of the rim. Trailing Brewster was Richmond's big man, Drew Crank, who collected the rebound and added a layup that rolled around the rim before ODU's Valdas Vasylius grabbed it to end the threat. On the Monarchs next possession, Brian Henderson found Brandon Johnson for three and the lead was 12.
The Monarchs didn't look back and only relinquished a double-digit lead once after the big possession. ODU won by 17 with John Morris adding the final nail on a long three-pointer from the wing with 25 seconds remaining.
Henderson was on fire out of the locker room hitting three straight shots for the Monarchs and giving ODU a 10-point lead. All ten of Henderson's points came in the second half and the big assist to Johnson made four total for the game. Henderson didn't have the lead in any statistical category, but his play in the second half was the key to victory for ODU.
"They may not be the leading scorer or the leading rebounder; they're not the statistical leaders, but these guys are pretty good," said head Coach Blaine Taylor of Henderson and his role-playing upperclassmen. Henderson and Brandon Johnson combined for 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting. They combined for 7 assists and 5 rebounds.
Valdas Vasylius, coming off the bench, led all Monarchs with 19 points and added four rebounds. He shot 6-of-7 from the field and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. Arnaud Dahi continues to surprise opponents with his range for a forward hitting two big three-pointers in the game. Dahi finished with 15 points and 7 rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting.
The Richmond game this season is reliant on its three-point shooting. However, the 36.4 percent from beyond the arc was not enough against the Monarchs. Nearly half the shots taken for the game were from beyond the arc (22 of 48) but the Spiders were only able to convert on eight. Ryan Butler led the Spiders with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting. All five of his field goals were from outside.
For the game, the Monarchs shot fifty percent (24-of-48) to the Spiders 39.6 percent (19-of-48). The rebounding margin was 38-20 in favor of ODU and the Monarchs shared the ball better with 19 assists to Richmond's 10. ODU dominated the defensive glass only allowing 7 offensive rebounds and grabbing 24 defensive boards. Defensively, the Monarchs got another spectacular night from Drew Williamson with 4 steals. Williamson added 7 assists and 8 points as well.
ODU improves its record to 5-1 and will travel to Poughkeepsie, New York to face Marist on Wednesday. Marist is 3-2 on the season coming off a victory over Big 10 powerhouse Minnesota in the Old Spice Classic. The Red Foxes will play Western Michigan on Sunday.