NORFOLK, Va. – B.J. Stith poured in a career-high 18 points to lead the Old Dominion men’s basketball team (8-5, 1-0 C-USA) over Rice (10-4, 0-1 C-USA) by a 62-56 score on Saturday afternoon at the Ted Constant Convocation Center for the Conference USA opener. The Monarchs shot a season-high 51.0% (26-51) from the floor.
Trailing 40-34 with 15:34 to play, Old Dominion used a 6-0 run to tie the contest at 40-40 with 13:00 to play. An Ahmad Caver three-pointer then dunk gave ODU a 51-47 advantage at the 7:58 mark.
B.J. Stith scored three the old fashion way to give the Monarchs a 54-51 lead with 6:07 showing on the game-clock. Jordan Baker then drilled a three to extend ODU’s lead to 59-53 with 3:49 to play, before the Monarchs ultimately claimed a six-point victory on New Year’s Eve.
“It is a lot different feeling in that locker room compared to after Thursday night’s game,” said ODU head coach Jeff Jones. “We responded exactly like I hoped. We didn’t play a great game, but we played tough as heck. To come away with a win in the C-USA opener is very nice.”
Also in double-figures for Old Dominion was Zoran Talley, who tallied 12 points (6-8 FG), two rebounds, two assists and two steals in 19 minutes of work. Brandan Stith narrowly missed out on his fifth double-double of the season, as he went for nine points, 10 rebounds, four blocks and three assists. Ahmad Caver scored nine points to compliment four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Denzell Taylor chipped in seven points and five rebounds in the winning effort.
The Owls took a 31-30 advantage with them into the locker rooms at halftime. B.J. Stith led the way for ODU in the opening half with 10 points. Old Dominion connected on 54.2% (13-24) from the floor in the first half. The Monarchs led for 17:37 of the possible 20 minutes.
For the game, Egor Koulechov led the Owls with 14 points and nine rebounds. The game experienced a total of five ties and two lead changes.
NEXT UP FOR THE MONARCHS
Old Dominion will remain at home and right back in action to kick-off 2017 on Monday, Jan. 2 against North Texas. Tipoff is slated for 5:00 p.m. at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. Monday will mark the end of the ODU’s six-game home-stand.
Fans can watch the game on C-USA TV.
SINGLE-GAME TICKETS
Single-game tickets for Old Dominion University men’s basketball are on sale now at www.ynottix.com or by calling 757-683-4444. For group pricing (10+), please call Todd McKeating at 757-683-7087. All ODU students get in free all year long.
VOUCHER BOOKS
The voucher book includes 10 ticket vouchers that can be redeemed for tickets to any remaining home men’s basketball games. The tickets can be used all at once to bring a family or group of friends or spread out amongst multiple games. If you run out of vouchers, simply come back and purchase another voucher book. At just $99 per voucher book, it represents more than $70, or 40%, savings over face value.
FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For a more in-depth look into the men’s basketball program, be sure to follow @ODUMBB on Twitter, ‘ODU Basketball’ on Facebook and odu_mbb on Instagram.