Jan. 16, 2008
NORFOLK, Va. -- The ODU men's basketball team (9-9/4-2), paced by a 19 points from sophomore Gerald Lee (Uusikaupunki, Finland), won their fourth CAA game of the season as they dropped the Dukes of JMU (10-6/3-3). The Monarchs won the game by 27 points, 79-52, over the conference opponent as they spread the floor. All but one of the Monarchs scored at least four points and had at least two rebounds apiece. ODU returns to The Ted for CAA action on Saturday against VCU (11-4/5-1) at 4:00 pm.
Both teams were frustrated by turnovers and missed buckets early, but it was ODU that went on a late first half run for a 10-point lead at the break. The Dukes were meek from beyond the arc in the first, shooting just 2-of-13 from outside in the first half for 15.4% shooting.
Despite turning the ball over nine times and allowing 13 JMU offensive boards in the first half, the Monarchs shot a solid 58.3% shooting from the field and were 4-of-6 from outside.
ODU continued to pull away early in the second half as the outside shooting continued to flow for the home team. ODU had seven different players make three-pointers in the game and had a much stronger inside presence rebounding in the second half to power past the Dukes. After getting outrebounded 20-14 in the first half, ODU grabbed 29 boards in the second, 15 more than the Dukes.
ODU got contributions all over the floor as Gerald Lee led the team as the only player in double-figures with 19 points. Brandon Johnson and Darius James both scored nine and seven more ODU players scored at least four points in the game. Frank Hassell and Keyon Carter both notched new career highs in points with eight and six respectively.
Both Ben Finney and Hassell added three blocks, while Jonathan Adams had two as ODU continued to prove why they are the top shot-blocking team in the conference with eight in the game.
The Monarchs shot their second best percentage of the season from the field at 54.5% on 30-of-55 shooting including 9-of-17 from outside (.529). The Dukes shot 30.8% on 20-of-65 shooting from the field and only converted 4-of-22 from outside the arc (.182).
Abdulai Jalloh and Pierre Curtis, the Dukes starting backcourt, finished just 5-of-27 from the field and 1-of-10 from three-point land. James Madison was paced by Joe Posey with 14 points and Terrance Carter, who grabbed 10 boards.
ODU stays home as they host Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday, January 19 at 4:00 pm. The game is the Monarchs "White-Out" game as fans are encouraged to wear white to The Ted. The Rams are 11-4 overall and now tied at the top of the league with a 5-1 conference mark after they upset previously undefeated Delaware on Wednesday night.