NORFOLK, VA—The Old Dominion University Monarchs (9-1) won their sixth straight with a 60-43 victory over the Hawks of Maryland-Eastern Shore Friday night at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. The 9-1 mark is the best since the 2004-05 season. Junior guard Aaron Bacote (Hampton, VA.) and graduate student Jonathan Arledge (Silver Spring, MD.) each scored 12 points to lead the Monarchs.
ODU’s defense led by 6-7 sophomore forward Denzell Taylor (Ontario, Canada) held the Hawks to .390 (16-41) shooting for the game and .333 (6-18) in the second half. The Monarchs outrebounded UMES, 38-27 as Taylor led with 11 boards and blocked three shots. The Monarchs scored 22 points off the Hawks 18 turnovers with the help of 11 steals. Taylor led with four steals.
UMES led 14-13 at the 12:04 mark in the first half, but Jonathan Arledge hit two free throws to put the Monarchs up for good at 15-14 with 11:41 remaining. The Monarchs led by as many as nine in the first half after a Taylor layup and held a 31-26 halftime lead.
In the second half, UMES got to within seven, 36-29 after a Michael Myers free throw, but Arledge hit two free throws for a 38-29 lead followed by junior guard Trey Freeman’s (Virginia Beach, VA.) two free throws and the Monarchs went up 11, 40-29 with 12:47 left. ODU’s biggest lead was 20 at 58-38 with 1:36 left in the game.
ODU finished the night shooting .357 (20-56) from the floor, but knocked down a season best .938 (15-16) free throws and only turned the ball over nine times which is the fifth time ODU has been under 10 for a game.
UMES as led in scoring by Michael Myers with 13 points and Iman Johnson led with seven rebounds.
The Monarchs return to action Monday night against former CAA rival William and Mary at 7 p.m. at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.
NOTE: The Monarchs school record for best free throws in a game is a perfect 100 (22-22) at Richmond in 2005. The 2004-05 team started the season off at 11-1 before losing another game.