Dec. 8, 2009
Box Score | Post-Game Press Conference (Subscription Required)
NORFOLK, Va. - The ODU men's basketball team (6-3) cruised to a 26-point victory over the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers (3-6) at home tonight, improving to 5-0 at home this season. Junior guard Darius James posted a season-high 14 points and the Monarchs were led by senior Gerald Lee for the sixth time this season with 16 points.
The 38 points for Mount St. Mary's was the lowest total points scored for the Mountaineers since Feb. 10, 1950 when they tallied 37 points against Loyola.
ODU held the Mountaineers to just 20 shots and a season-low 16 points scored in the first half. Mount St. Mary's managed just 6-for-20 in the first half for 30% shooting, including a 1-for-4 effort from beyond the arc. The ODU defense had six steals and one block, forcing 11 turnovers in the first half.
Taking advantage of the Mountaineers cold streak, the Monarchs built a 19-point lead heading into halftime. The Monarchs used a 10-0 run that lasted just under seven minutes to create some distance, forcing seven missed shots and six turnovers in that stretch. The run was punctuated by a breakaway dunk from sophomore Kent Bazemore after a Ben Finney steal with 5:22 remaining.
Senior Gerald Lee led the way for ODU in the first 20 minutes with 10 points, while junior Keyon Carter added seven and Ben Finney had six. The Monarchs dominated the boards, hauling in 28 rebounds compared to just 11 for the Mountaineers, including a 15-2 advantage on the offensive glass. Carter had a game-high six in the first half.
Lee finished in double figures for the seventh time this season with a game-high 16 points, while Darius James finished in double figures for the first time this season with his season-high 14. James added five assists and finished 6-for-10 from the field. Bazemore rounded out the Monarchs in double-digits with 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting, adding five rebounds.
Carter added three rebounds in the second half to lead ODU with nine total, while Frank Hassell hauled in eight in the win. Every Monarch but point guard Marquel De Lancey had at least one rebound as the Monarchs continued to dominate the glass in the second half, finishing with a 50-29 advantage. The Monarchs allowed just eight offensive boards in the game for the Mountaineers, while grabbing 22 on their own offensive glass. De Lancey made up for it by posting three assists and a game-high three thefts.
Mount St. Mary's was led by Jean Cajou, scoring 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting. Kelly Beidler had six points and a team-high five rebounds in the contest, also blocking two shots. Reserves Tayvon Jackson and Danny Thompson also had two blocks.
The Mountaineers finished just 29.4% from the field on 15-of-51 shooting while ODU was hitting at a 37.9% clip on 25-of-66 shooting.
Old Dominion hits the road for a pair of tough road games as they head to Ohio to face RV/RV Dayton this Friday, December 11, and then on to #15/13 Georgetown on Saturday, December 19. Tip against the Flyers this Friday night is at 7:00 p.m. and fans can tune in to ESPN Radio 94.1 FM for live play-by-play.