Feb. 14, 2008
NORFOLK, Va. -- The ODU men's hoops team escaped The Ted with a thrilling double overtime victory over the Drexel Dragons (10-16/3-11), 75-71. The Monarchs got an impressive game-tying three-ball from senior Brandon Johnson with 0.8 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime.
The game looked all but decided in the second half as ODU piled up a lead that would reach 15 points with 12:45 remaining. But soon after, the Monarchs would hit a dry spell that would allow the Dragons to scratch their way all the way back with a 20-4 run over the next 9:33 to take the lead with just 3:17 remaining.
The waning moments of regulation saw Drexel with the ball and a three-point lead. With ten seconds separating the game clock and shot clock the ball would get knocked away from Drexel by Ben Finney, but a Drexel guard would fall on it and call a timeout. Out of the full timeout, ODU would have to force a miss for it not to be a two-possession game. The team defense stepped up and Drexel's Scott Rodgers was forced to lob one up with just over one second remaining on the shot clock.
Brian Henderson grabbed the rebound and ODU called a timeout with just six seconds remaining on the clock. Brandon Johnson received the inbound pass, got a screen from Gerald Lee on the left wing and elevated over a defender for the game-tying buzzer beater to send the game into overtime, tied at 54 apiece.
In the extra periods, ODU started to pull away as they forced the ball down low and fouled out three Dragon starters. The Dragons refused to give up, even as the Monarchs mounted a six-point lead in the second overtime period, and cut it down to two with 12 seconds remaining. Johnson, in a night where he didn't exactly light up the stat sheet, still was the star as he hit two more big shots, sealing the win by nailing the final two free-throws of the night for ODU.
The Monarchs got 23 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks from sophomore Gerald Lee. Frank Hassell and Brian Henderson added 10 points apiece and Jonathan Adams finished just one point shy of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
The Dragons were led by Tramayne Hawthorne with 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. Scott Rodgers and Frank Elegar were also in double figures with 13 and 12 respectively, and Elegar added nine rebounds and six blocks.
Brandon Johnson had five steals in the game, passing Drew Williamson for second all-time in ODU history and 7th all-time in the CAA with 219 career thefts.
With the win, ODU gets back to .500 on the year at 13-13 and are 8-6 in the CAA. The Monarchs return to the hardwood at VCU on Saturday, February 16 at 8:00 pm. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.