RUSTON, La. – In a game that the Old Dominion men’s basketball team led by as many as 25 in the second half, the Monarchs dominated LA Tech (15-11, 6-7 C-USA), ultimately winning by an 82-69 final score on Saturday night on Karl Malone Court at the Thomas Assembly Center. The Monarchs improved to 19-5 overall and 10-2 in conference play. ODU has won seven of its last eight and 14 of its last 16 contests.
“This was an outstanding effort by our team,” said ODU head coach Jeff Jones. “Everybody played well and we needed all of it. To basically be in control from start to finish against what I think is a very talented and very good Louisiana Tech team is really good. I’m proud of the way our guys battled and the way they played.”
B.J. Stith paced the Monarchs with 18 points, four rebounds and three assists. Ahmad Caver recorded a double-double, scoring 17 points and dishing out 10 assists, to compliment six steals and five rebounds. Trey Porter finished with 16 points, five rebounds and two blocks in 25 minutes of work. Randy Haynes scored 16 points (4-6 3PT), had two rebounds, two assists and two steals.
ODU led for 38:48 of the possible 40 minutes. For the game, Old Dominion shot 50.0% (10-20) from deep and 56.6% (30-53) from the floor. The Monarchs forced the Bulldogs into 20 turnovers, scoring 22 points off those turnovers.
ODU took the largest lead of the first half, 45-29, with them into the locker rooms after shooting a blistering 62.1% (18-29) from the floor and 53.8% (7-13) from three-point range, behind a half-high 10 points from B.J. Stith. Ahmad Caver dished out a half-high seven assists to go along with nine points. Randy Haynes also scored nine points in the opening 20 minutes, while Trey Porter followed with eight points.
Old Dominion will return home for its next two contests, first against UTSA on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 8:00 p.m., which will air on beIN and then on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 7:00 p.m. against UTEP, which will air on ESPN3.
“UTSA is one of the most improved teams in our league,” Jones concluded. “UTSA plays extremely hard and Coach Henson does a remarkable job, so we’ve got to be ready to play really hard and really well because UTSA gets after it.”