NORFOLK, Va. - The Old Dominion men's basketball team extended its home winning streak to 32 games with a 74-65 victory over Charlotte in the Conference USA opener on Saturday at the Ted Constant Center. The 32-game winning streak is tied with Kansas for the fourth-longest active streak in Division I basketball.
Old Dominion (8-6, 1-0 C-USA), was led by Trey Freeman's 21 points on 9-13 shooting from the floor. Aaron Bacote (four assists) added 18 points, Brandan Stith tallied 11 points and nine rebounds, while Denzell Taylor contributed a game-high 13 rebounds.
Overall, ODU shot 50.8 percent from the field and outrebounded Charlotte (3-10, 0-1 C-USA), 41-28. The Monarchs led for a total of 33:54 of the possible 40 minutes. For the contest, Old Dominion held advantages for points in the paint (50-32), points off turnovers (21-6) and bench points (29-10).
The teams traded baskets early, before Old Dominion used an 11-0 run midway through the first half to pull ahead. The Monarch defense played a key part in the early success, holding Charlotte scoreless for nearly six minutes during the 11-0 run. Overall, ODU held the 49ers to 35 percent shooting in the first half, while forcing nine turnovers.
The Monarchs carried a 32-19 lead into halftime, as the 13-point advantage was the largest lead of the first half for ODU. Freeman led ODU in scoring in the opening half with nine points, while Bacote added eight and Stith contributed seven.
ODU continued its momentum into the second half, going on a quick 10-0 run early to build its biggest lead of the game at 54-33 at the 11:21 mark. The 21-point margin proved to be too much for the 49ers to overcome, as a last-second three-pointer from Charlotte marked the only time ODU led by less than 10 points in the second half.
Nik Biberaj played a key role off the bench, scoring eight points and grabbing eight rebounds.
Charlotte's Andrien White led all scorers with 27 points. Joseph Uchebo added 15 points and eight rebounds for the 49ers.
Longest Active NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Home Winning Streaks
1. Arizona (47)
2t. Louisiana Tech (38)
2t. Wichita State (38)
4t. Old Dominion (32)
4t. Kansas (32)
NEXT UP FOR THE MONARCHS
Old Dominion will hit the road for a Thursday, Jan. 7 showdown at LA Tech in Ruston on the CBS Sports Network. Tip-off is slated for 9:00 p.m. EST. The Monarchs will stay on the road to square off against Southern Miss on Sat., Jan. 9 at 8:00 p.m. EST.
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Get 10 tickets to use at any home ODU basketball games during the 2015-16 regular season. Use them all at one game to bring family and friends, or spread them out over the season. The choice is yours! The price is $120 for a men’s basketball voucher book. That’s a $50 savings over purchasing at the ticket window. Purchase now at www.ynottix.com.
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