Jan. 10, 2007
NORFOLK, VA -- Old Dominion (11-5, 4-1) played with tenacity in the paint to drop Delaware (2-14, 0-5) by 35 points on Wednesday night. Senior Arnaud Dahi led the charge with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting while adding seven rebounds. Valdas Vasylius and Brandon Johnson added 10 apiece while every Monarch added at least one field goal.
The Blue Hens struggled to defend the paint as ODU scored 47 of its 83 from inside. The Monarchs continuously waited for the high percentage shot to develop and exploited the height mismatches down low. The Monarchs also rebounded and defended the paint well, with a 42-29 advantage on the boards, five blocks, and a number of the eight steals coming down low.
The Monarchs jumped to a 44-28 lead at the break behind the play of Dahi, who score 15 of his 17 points in the first frame. Johnson was held scoreless in the second half but was 4-of-7 from the field in the first good for 10 points. He also grabbed four steals in the first.
ODU never let the 16-point lead slip in the second half and extended it with pesky defense and much more of the same high-percentage shooting inside. ODU allowed only one field goal in the first nine minutes of the second half. The Blue Hens would only convert on five field goals in the entire half.
As a team, ODU shot extremely well from the field, going 34-of-61 good for 55.7%. The Monarchs, powered by Dahi's 3-for-3 from outside, shot 41.2% from beyond the arc (7-for-17). Delaware hung in at 44% (11-of-25) in the first, but were a dismal 5-for-31 in the second, good for just 16.1%. The Hens were even worse from outside, hitting just 1-of-11 (9.1%) in the second and just 5-of-22 (22.7%) for the game.
Bench play was also a factor as the Monarchs bench outscored Delaware's 32-6. Every single Monarch player had at least one field goal and all but one had at least one assist. The Monarchs even shared the boards, with all but two players getting rebounds.
Dahi's overall good day was capped by the game-high point mark and seven rebounds, but he also played well as a complimentary player adding 3 assists and one block. Johnson had 10 points, six boards, four assists, and four steals. Jonathan Adams made the most of just 17 minutes of playing time by scoring seven points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
Delaware was led by junior guard Sam McMahon with 12 points and 12 rebounds. The only other Blue Hen in double digits was Calvin Cannon with ten. Leading scorer for Delaware, Herb Courtney, scored only nine, half of his season average.
ODU improves to 4-1 in the conference, taking sole possession of fourth behind VCU, Hofstra, and Drexel in the conference as William & Mary lost tonight against VCU. The men's next game is a home showdown against Drexel on Saturday with tip set for 4:00 pm. The Dragons were in the "others receiving votes" category in this weeks national rankings and are undefeated in the conference with a matchup against another CAA undefeated team tomorrow night at Hofstra.