Dec. 14, 2008
NORFOLK, VA--Four players scored in double figures as the Old Dominion Univeristy Monarchs (4-3) defeated the Eagles of North Carolina Central (0-11), 79-54 Sunday afternoon in the Ted Constant Convocation Center. All but one Monarch scored on the day.
Ben Finney (Portsmouth, VA.), Keyon Carter (Riviera Beach, FL.) and Frank Hassell (Chesapeake, Va.)each scored 12 points and Gerald Lee (Finland) added 11. For Carter it was his second double-doublein his last three games.
ODU started out fast with a 12-2 lead at the 14:19 mark of the first half, then increased it to 19 with a 29-10 lead at the 6:40 mark of the half. The Monarchs took a 41-19 halftime lead thanks to .576 (19-33)shooting. NCCU shot .308(8-26) and ODU dominated the boards with a 22-12 lead and only five turnovers.
For the game, ODU hit .525 (31-59) from the floor and outrebounded the Eagles, 46-25. BesidesKeyon Carter's 10 rebounds, Ben Finney hauled down nine,Gerald Lee seven and Frank Hassellhad six boards. Lee also had two steals and two blocked shots. Darius James scored nine, Marsharee Neely scored eight points and senior Jonathan Adams seven.
Red-shirt freshman Kent Bazemore (Kelford, NC.) handed out a career high seven assists. FreshmanGuard Trian Iliadis (Australia) dressed and played in his first collegiate game for ODU, scoring two points.Iliadis had missed the previous six games and pre-season because of a foot injury. Fellow freshman guard Marquel De Lancey (Alexandria, Va.) scored his first collegiate point from the free throw line.
In the second half, NC Central cut ODU's lead to 12 at 43-31 with 15:54 left. Ben Finney then hit athree-pointer along with a layup from Jonathan Adams and a trey by Ken Bazemore put the MonarchsBack up 17 with 11:41 remaining.
North Carolina Central was led by Philip Branch with 15 points,followed by Vincent Davis with11 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals .
ODU returns to action on Wednesday night when they travel to Pittsburgh, PA. to take on Duquesneat 7 p.m.