HOUSTON, TX -- The ODU Monarchs (21-6/10-5) defeated Rice Thursday evening, 63-54 behind a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds from Trey Freeman (Virginia Beach, VA.) along with 14 points from Richard Ross Wichita Falls, Tx.) and 12 from Ambrose Mosley (Jacksonville, FL.) off the bench. The win ended ODU's five-game C-USA road losing streak.
"Tonight was a workman like effort for our team," Said ODU Head Coach Jeff Jones. "We played really hard and we got a big lift off the bench from Ambrose Mosley and Richard Ross. The biggest thing was the solid job we did on the defensive end and on the boards."
ODU shot .471 (24-51) from the field, while Rice shot .421 (16-38). The Monarchs outrebounded the Owls, 30-23 led by a career high 11 rebounds from this week's C-USA Player of the Week Trey Freeman.
Freeman also had a game high five assists, while Ross came up with a game high three steals. Mosley knocked down four-of-five shots from beyond the arc.
The Monarchs took a 10-point lead into halftime, 30-20 after Freeman knocked down two straight three-pointers. ODU led by as many as 17, 61-44 after a Ambrose Mosley three-pointer with 3:19 left in the game.
Max Guercy led Rice with 20 points and Seth Gearhart added 10. Guercy was five-for-seven from the floor and seven-of-eight from the free throw line.
The Monarchs travel to Denton, TX to play at North Texas Saturday at 5:30 ET. The constest can been seen on WTVZ channel 33 (over the air) and Cox Channel 2 in Hampton Roads.