NORFOLK, VA—Sophomore Ambrose Mosley scored a game high 17 points and ODU shot a blistering .592 from the field as the Monarchs (15-16/9-7) defeated East Carolina 68-47 Thursday night before a crowd of 7,029 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center on Senior night.
The victory puts the Monarchs as the number sixth seed in next week’s C-USA Tournament in El Paso, TX.
ODU took a seven point lead in the first half, at 21-14 with 7:30 left, but ECU tied the game at 21 on a free throw by Brandan Stith with 2:01 left. The Monarchs promptly closed out the half on a 7-0 run thanks to a three-pointer by Ambrose Mosley, followed by a layup from Aaron Bacote and then a short jumper by Dimitri Batten for a 28-21 halftime lead.
In the second half the lead grew to as much as 22 at 59-37 with 6:11 left after a Batten trey. The Monarchs shot .708 (17-24) from the field and ECU managed only .269 (7-26). For the game, ODU finished at .592 (29-49), a season best and ECU finished at .298 (14-47).
Four Monarchs scored in double figures led by Mosley with 17. He was 5-for-10 from three-point range. Joining him in double figures with 13 was Aaron Bacote who hit 6-of-10 from the floor. Dimitri Batten and Richard Ross each scored 12 points.
ODU outrebounded ECU, 31-29 as Ross led with eight. Ross also blocked three shots, while ODU dished out a season best 20 assists as all but one of the 11 Monarchs who played had atleast one assist tonight led by Keenan Palmore with four. Mosley came up with a game high three of ODU’s eight steals.
While the Monarchs won by a season best 21 points, ODU did not make a free throw in three attempts. Last year, ODU was 0-7 against W&M in the Constant Center on Feb. 16, but lost. The last time ODU only took three free throws in a game was in 1974 (3-3) against Randolph-Macon.
ECU was led by Caleb White with 12 points and Paris Campbell added 10. Tonight was the final regular season home game for ODU senior Anton Larsen. He was joined by Monarch graduate Donte Hill who was denied an appeal to play this season by the NCAA.
The Monarchs entered tonight's game as the fourth most improved NCAA team over last year.
The C-USA Tournament begins Tuesday, March 11th. ODU will have a first round bye to March 12th.
C-USA Men's Basketball Championship Pairings
After taking a share of its second straight regular season conference championship in its first year as a member of Conference USA, Louisiana Tech will be the No. 1 seed at the 2014 Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship, March 11-15 at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas. The Bulldogs shared the C-USA regular season title with Tulsa, Middle Tennessee and Southern Miss. The four-way tie marked just the third time in the league's 19-year history that multiple teams tied for the regular season men's basketball crown and the first time since five schools shared the title in 2004.
All games will be played at the Don Haskins Center on the UTEP campus, site of the 2011 C-USA Championship. First, second and quarterfinal round games on Tuesday, March 11, Wednesday, March 12 and Thursday, March 13 will air on the C-USA Digital Network. The Friday semifinal games will be shown on CBS Sports Network at 2 and 4:30 (MDT). CBS will broadcast the championship game on Saturday, beginning at 10:35 a.m. (CDT).
More information to follow: http://www.conferenceusa.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/030614aam.html
2014 Conference USA Championship Schedule
Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas
Tuesday, March 11
(10) North Texas vs. (15) Rice (C-USADN) 3:30p
(11) Florida Atlantic vs. (14) Marshall (C-USADN) 6:00p
(12) East Carolina vs. (13) UTSA (C-USADN) 8:30p
Wednesday, March 12
North Texas/Rice vs. (7) Tulane (C-USADN) 12:00p
FAU/Marshall vs. (6) Old Dominion (C-USADN) 2:30p
ECU/UTSA vs. (5) UTEP (C-USADN) 6:00p
(9) Charlotte vs. (8) UAB (C-USADN) 8:30p
Thursday, March 13
NT/Rice/Tulane vs. (2) Tulsa (C-USADN) 12:00p
FAU/MAR/ODU vs. (3) Middle Tennessee (C-USADN) 2:30p
ECU/UTSA/UTEP vs. (4) Southern Miss (C-USADN) 6:00p
UAB/Charlotte vs. (1) Louisiana Tech (C-USADN) 8:30p
Friday, March 14
Semifinal # 1 (CBS Sports Network) 2:00p
Semifinal # 2 (CBS Sports Network) 4:30p
Saturday, March 15
Championship Game (CBS) 9:35a
All Times MOUNTAIN