NORFOLK, Va. – Ahmad Caver led the way with 15 points as the Old Dominion men’s basketball team (18-10, 11-5 C-USA) led start to finish in its 67-53 win over Western Kentucky (13-16, 7-9 C-USA) on Saturday night at the Ted Constant Convocation. Before the game, Jordan Baker and Denzell Taylor and their families were honored for Senior Night. The Monarchs have now won four in a row for the first time this season and have claimed victory in seven of their past nine contests.
“This was a terrific win for our team,” said ODU head coach Jeff Jones. “It is always nice to end the home schedule on a positive note. This was also an awesome crowd for our seniors. I am happy for all of our guys, but especially Jordan Baker and Denzell Taylor.”
The Monarchs held the Hilltoppers scoreless for seven minutes, while claiming a 28-13 lead at the 5:49 mark of the opening half. In a first half that ODU led by as many as 16, Old Dominion took a 37-23 advantage into the locker rooms with them at halftime, behind a half-high of 11 points from Ahmad Caver. The Monarchs shot 55% from the floor and 50% from three in the first half. ODU dominated points in the paint (18-2) and rebounds (22-10) in the opening 20 minutes.
In the second half, Western Kentucky pulled within 10 on three separate occasions (10:58, 10:15, 7:15), but would not get closer as the Monarchs sealed the deal on their 14-point win on Saturday night in Norfolk.
Caver dished out six assists and had five rebounds to compliment his team-high 15 points. Also in double-figures for ODU were B.J. Stith (13 points and five rebounds) and Brandan Stith (11 points, six rebounds and three blocks).
Jordan Baker went for nine points, six assists and two steals, while fellow senior Denzell Taylor finished with a team-high eight rebounds to go along with two points, one assist, one steal and one block.
Alassane Kah scored a career-high nine points on 4-4 shooting from the floor.
For the game, Old Dominion held advantages for points in the paint (28-11), points off turnovers (15-3), bench points (17-6) and second chance points (14-5). ODU led for a total of 39:26 of the possible 40 minutes, as the contest was tied for the opening 34 seconds.
Pancake Thomas led all scorers with 17 points for Western Kentucky.
Next up for the Monarchs
Old Dominion will close out the regular season on the road in Texas next week. First, on March 2, the Monarchs will travel to UTEP to take on the Miners at 8:00 p.m. EST on beIN. On Saturday, March 4, ODU will have a showdown against the UTSA Roadrunners on their Senior Day at 4:00 p.m. EST on C-USA TV for the 2016-17 regular season finale.
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