ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands – In a game that the Monarchs led by as many as 23, the Old Dominion men’s basketball team (2-2) cruised to a 65-47 victory over Kennesaw State (1-4) in the 2018 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam on Saturday afternoon at the University of the Virgin Islands Sports & Fitness Center.
For a 13:37 stretch during the ballgame, Old Dominion’s defense held the Owls scoreless. 12 Monarchs played, while 11 scored.
Ahmad Caver led the way for the Monarchs with 14 points to go along with three assists, two rebounds and two steals. Also in double-figures for ODU was B.J. Stith, who finished with a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds and two steals). Justice Kithcart (five assists and three rebounds) and Jason Wade (three assists and one steal) each chipped in eight points, respectively. Dajour Dickens went for seven points (3-3 FG), six rebounds and two blocks.
Old Dominion held advantages for rebounds (45-30), points in the paint (32-14), bench points (27-15) and second chance points (12-2). For the contest, ODU’s defense held the Owls to 32.1% (18-56) shooting from the floor and 16.7% (2-12) from deep.
ODU held Kennesaw State scoreless the last 9:24 of the first half, while claiming a 31-14 lead at halftime. The 14 first half points by the Owls, nearly broke an ODU first half record from 1982, when ODU only allowed 11 points in the opening 20 minutes to VMI. Caver scored a half-high 11 points, while B.J. Stith scored seven points to compliment seven rebounds. Old Dominion held advantages for points in the paint (14-2) and bench points (9-2), while the defense held Kennesaw State 18.5% (5-27) from the floor and 0.0% (0-6) from deep.
Old Dominion will take on either Northern Iowa or Eastern Kentucky at 3:00 p.m. EST on Monday, Nov. 19.
All games for the Paradise Jam will stream online at FloHoops.com. Fans are required to buy a plan for at least a month ($29.99/month) on FloHoops’ website in order to watch the streams.