Jan. 17, 2009
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Larry Sanders scored 16 points and Virginia Commonwealth defeated Old Dominion 61-44 in a CAA contest on Saturday.
Eric Maynor added 12 points and nine assists for the Rams, and Brandon Rozzell added a career-high 12 points.
Ben Finney had 11 points and Gerald Lee (Uusikaupunki, Finland) scored 10 along with a season-high 11 rebounds for the Monarchs.
Virginia Commonwealth (12-3, 6-1 Colonial Athletic Association) rushed to a 20-8 lead with 11:20 remaining in the first half. Old Dominion (10-7, 3-4) rallied to cut the margin to 20-18 with 8:20 left, hitting five straight field goals, three by Frank Hassell (Chesapeake, VA.). Virginia Commonwealth took a 35-26 halftime lead when Rozzell canned a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left.
The Rams had a double-digit lead for the final 12:17 of the game, leading by as many as 18.
ODU shot only .345 (20-58) from the floor, while the Rams hit .435 (27-62).Rebounding was dead even at 38. Besides Lee's game high 11 boards, Frank Hasselland Ben Finney (Portsmouth, VA.) each grabbed six boards. Darius James (Virginia Beach, VA.) led ODU with four assistsand Jonathan Adams (Ringgold, GA.) chipped in with three assists.For Gerald Lee, it was his first double-double of the season and fourth of hiscareer.
ODU returns to action on Wednesday night when they host the Seahawks of UNCWilmington at 7 p.m. The contest will be televised live in Hampton Roads onWSKY4.
On Monday, Blaine Taylor will speak at the Norfolk Sports Club.