HOUSTON- Texas – Five Monarchs scored in double-figures as the Old Dominion men’s basketball team (12-8, 5-3 C-USA) defeated Rice (13-8, 3-5 C-USA) by an 80-72 score at Tudor Fieldhouse on Thursday night.
In his first appearance since Jan. 5 (injury), Brandan Stith recorded a double-double consisting of a team-high 18 points on 8-8 shooting and team-high 11 rebounds. Zoran Talley went for 15 points, six assists and four rebounds. Randy Haynes scored a career-high 14 points to go along with six rebounds and two assists. B.J. Stith scored 12 points and hauled down five rebounds in 22 minutes of work. Also in double-figures for ODU was Ahmad Caver, who contributed 11 points, a game-high eight assists and three rebounds. Denzell Taylor chipped in six points (3-3 FG), eight rebounds and two steals.
“This was a very good team win tonight,” said ODU head coach Jeff Jones. “A lot of guys stepped up and played well and I think ultimately that was the difference. Our defense was terrific, but I think our aggressiveness and balance offensively with five different guys in double-figures was a really good sign for us. Now we need to get mentally prepared and be ready to play at North Texas on Saturday.”
In a game that Old Dominion led by as many as 22 with just 10 minutes remaining, the Monarchs held advantages for points in the paint (38-8), bench points (34-10), rebounds (42-29) and assists (20-11).
ODU shot 62.5% (15-24) from the floor in the second half and 54.2% (32-59) for the contest. Old Dominion led for 31:23 of the possible 40 minutes. For the game, Rice shot 37.7% (20-53) from the floor and 53.3% (16-30) from three-point range.
The Owls were led by Marcus Evans’ game-high 23 points, as he connected on 6-7 from deep.
NEXT UP FOR THE MONARCHS
Old Dominion will remain on the road in Texas as they travel to Denton for a Saturday showdown at North Texas on Saturday, with tipoff slated for 3:00 p.m. EST. The game will air on C-USA TV.
ALL-TIME SERIES: ODU vs. North Texas
-Saturday’s game marks the seventh all-time meeting between the two schools.
-ODU has won all six of the previous meetings.
-These schools last met back on Jan. 2, 2017, in a game the Monarchs won 55-48.
-Old Dominion is 2-0 all-time when playing North Texas in Denton.
-The two teams met twice last season, with ODU winning in Denton (76-70) and Norfolk (67-47).
-These two schools first met during the 2013-14 season, in a game ODU won 72-62.
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.