NORFOLK, Va. – In the first ever meeting, the Old Dominion men’s basketball team (7-3, 0-0 C-USA) dominated Bowling Green (7-4, 0-0 MAC) by an 88-46 score at the Ted Constant Convocation Center on Saturday night. The Falcons entered the contest averaging 84.6 points per game and were held 39 points under their season average. ODU held a lead for 39:02 of the possible 40 minutes, while the game was tied for just 58 seconds.
Bowling Green entered the contest as 30th best team from three-point range in the country, but Old Dominion’s defense held them to 10.0% (2-20) from deep.
“I didn’t expect to win by this much honestly, that is a good Bowling Green team,” said ODU head coach Jeff Jones. “I thought we had a great effort all-around and I also thought we played pretty well defensively tonight.”
A total of four Monarchs scored in double-figures on Saturday night. Brandan Stith poured in a game-high 21 points on 9-10 (90.0%) shooting from the floor, to go along with 11 rebounds. B.J. Stith scored 15 points and had three rebounds, while Xavier Green finished with 14 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals in 19 minutes of work. Ahmad Caver filled the stat sheet with 10 points, eight assists (one turnover) and five rebounds.
For the game, Old Dominion held advantages for points off turnovers (19-4), rebounds (49-38), assists (17-6) and bench points (26-18). The Monarchs only turned the ball over five times, while forcing 15 BGSU turnovers. ODU held Bowling Green to 30.2% (19-63) shooting from the floor. Old Dominion shot 44.6% (29-65) from the floor and 75.9% (22-29) from the charity stripe. 11 Monarchs scored on Saturday night.
The Monarchs claimed a 16-point lead at halftime behind a half-high 13 points from Brandan Stith on 6-7 shooting from the floor. In the first half, ODU turned the Falcons over nine times and held a 10-0 advantage for points off turnovers. In the opening 20 minutes, Old Dominion connected on 83.3% (10-12) from the free-throw line, while holding BGSU to just 35.5% (11-31) shooting from the floor.
Old Dominion will be back in action on Sunday, Dec. 17, when they travel to Fairfield for a 1:00 p.m. tipoff. The game will air on Facebook Live through Fairfield Athletics’ page.