Dec. 23, 2010
NORFOLK, VA-- Led by the play of Kent Bazemore, Darius James and Ben Finney, theOld Dominion (9-2) Monarchs defeated the Blue Hose of Presbyterian, 63-54 tonightin front of 6,738 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. The Monarchs outscoredPC, 11-3 in the final six-plus minutes of the game.
Kent Bazemore led with 15 points, two steals and two blocked shots. Darius James added14 points with five assists and four steals, while Ben Finney scored 12 points, and hauled down eight rebounds.
Presbyterian came into tonight's game after beating Auburn and Wake Forest. TheBlue Hose led 16-10 at the 11:45 mark after a three-pointer by Josh Johnson. ODUrallied and took the lead, 20-18 on a layup by Trian Ilaidis.The Monarchs tooka 30-27 halftime lead.
In the second half, ODU jumped to an eight point lead, 37-29 after a trey by DariusJames, but Presbyterian rallied for a 46-45 lead on a dunk by Khalid Mutakabbirwith 11:04 left in the game.
After trading baskets the next three minutes, ODU took the lead for good with 7:26 left on a layup by Frank Hassell on an assist from Trian Iliadis. PC would notscore again until Al'Lonzo Coleman's layup with 1:57 left.
Hassell and Finney hit two free throws each, and Darius James hit four freethrows in the final 6:52 of the contest.
ODU shot .423 (22-52) from the field, while PC was .396 (21-53). The Monarchsdominated the boards, 40-26 as Frank Hassell hauled down a game high 12 boards,along with Finney's eight and Keyon Carter's seven.
Presbyterian was led by Al'Lonzo Coleman with 17 points and eight rebounds, followed by Khalid Mutakabbir's 11 points, four assists and three steals. Pierre Miller led the Blue Hose with five assists.
The victory was Blaine Taylor's 197th at ODU which passes Paul Webb (1975-85) and puts him in second all-time at ODU. He is just one win shy of tying Bud Metheny (1948-65).
Former Monarch standout Gerald Lee ('10) was back in the area and was presentedhis CAA Championship ring during a pre-game ceremony. the 6-10 Lee is currently playing in Italy.
The Monarchs, who ranked second in the Collegeinsider.com poll and have an RPIof nine (Realtime RPI) break for Christmas and return to action on Dec. 30th when they travel to Columbia, MO to take on ninth ranked Missouri. CAA play begins onJan. 3rd at Towson.