Feb. 3, 2007
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) - Arnaud Dahi scored a career high tying 25 points and Old Dominion earned its fifth consecutive win with a 66-56 overtime victory over George Mason on Saturday. ODU evens its road record at 5-5.
Trailing 56-53 after a basket by George Mason's Folarin Campbell with nine seconds remaining, Dahi knocked down a 3-pointer as time expired and the game went into overtime.
Brandon Johnson then took over for the Monarchs by scoring four consecutive points and giving Old Dominion its first lead, 61-56, since the opening minutes of the first half. Johnson came up with two of his four steals in the overtimeperiod. He now has 12 steals against Mason this year.
Drew Williamson, who wasrecovering from a stomach virus added 15 points and eight rebounds for Old Dominion (17-7, 10-3 Colonial Athletic Association), who earned just its second win in the last nine meetings at the Patriot Center. ODU has now swept the two-game regular season series against both Drexel and Mason.
Folarin Campbell scored 23 points and Darryl Monroe added career highs of 17 points and 11 rebounds for George Mason (13-10, 7-6). Will Thomas finished with seven points and 11 rebounds for the Patriots, who shot just 34.3 percent (21 of 61). George Mason led 49-46 at the 5-minute mark.
The Monarchs trailed throughout most the game and failed to take a lead until Johnson's 3-pointer gave Old Dominion a 60-57 lead with 3:03 remaining in overtime.
Williamson is now just one steal shy of joining Frank Smith ('88) as theonly Monarchs to have over 500 career assists and 200 career steals. Dahi scored 25 points in Nov. of 2005 against the University of Wisconsin inthe Paradise Jam Championship game.
The Monarchs return to action Wednesday night in Atlanta againstGeorgia State, before hosting VCU next Saturday.