NORFOLK, Va. – In the 19th all-time meeting, the Old Dominion men’s basketball team (9-3, 0-0 C-USA) took down Norfolk State (1-12, 0-0 MEAC) by a 61-50 score on Friday night at the Norfolk Scope in front of 6,711 fans on 'Throwback Night'. B.J. Stith led all scorers with 17 points (6-7 FT) to go along with eight rebounds. The Monarchs have now won four in a row.
“This was the kind of the game we expected,” said ODU head coach Jeff Jones. “Tonight was a game between two teams who really cared and really got after it. I kept telling our guys to just keep playing. It wasn’t always pretty but there wasn’t anything wrong with our effort.”
The Spartans claimed a 36-32 lead at the 11:48 mark of the second half. With 8:30 to play, the game was tied, 40-40. A 16-6 ODU run gave the Monarchs a 56-46 advantage with 2:13 remaining in regulation, before Old Dominion ultimately claimed an 11-point victory on Friday night. The Monarchs outscored Norfolk State, 38-28, in the second half.
Ahmad Caver finished with 15 points, six assists, four rebounds and four steals. Trey Porter went for 14 points (8-10 FT), six rebounds, one block and one steal. Brandan Stith chipped in six points, eight rebounds and four blocks in 29 minutes of work.
The game experienced 15 lead changes and 10 ties. ODU held advantages for second chance points (19-5), points off turnovers (15-6) and rebounds (42-36). For the contest, the Monarchs held the Spartans to 38.0% (19-50) shooting from the floor and 23.5% (4-17) shooting from three. Old Dominion connected on 78.1% (25-32) of its free-throws. ODU now leads the all-time series with Norfolk State, 13-6.
Despite not scoring a field goal over a 9:46 span in the opening half, the Monarchs claimed a 23-22 lead at halftime, after holding Norfolk State to 31.8% (7-22) shooting from the floor. In a first half that ODU led by as many as six and for 12:58 of the 20 possible minutes, Old Dominion was led by Trey Porter and Randy Haynes’ five points each, respectively.
Old Dominion will be back in action on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 7:00 p.m., when the Monarchs host Charlotte for the Conference USA opener. The game will air on ESPN3.