MIAMI, Fla. – Dajour Dickens putback with 1.1 seconds left lifted Old Dominion to a 75-74 win over FIU Saturday night in Miami.
With the Monarchs trailing by one, Ahmad Caver drove in the lane and his runner rimmed out but Dickens was there for the putback with 1.1 seconds left. A last second heave by FIU was way off and the Monarchs escaped with the one-point win.
The final two minutes saw back and forth action with ODU taking a 71-70 lead on a jumper by Xavier Green, but Brian Beard followed with a pair of free throws to give the Panthers a 72-71 lead. Caver put ODU back in front with a layup but two more Beard free throws gave FIU a 74-73 lead before Dickens’ putback.
Caver led the way for ODU with 22 points, while B.J. Stith had 19 points, 14 in the second half and seven rebounds.
ODU led for nearly 19 minutes in the first half as Ahmad Caver got off to a hot start, scoring 11 of ODU’s first 18 points to give the Monarchs an early 18-9 lead.
FIU closed to within two at 29-27, but ODU went on a 9-0 run capped with a dunk and one by Aaron Carver to push to a 38-27 lead.
FIU went on a late run to close the halftime gap to 43-37.
ODU shot 44.4 percent in the first half and were 47 percent from beyond the arc.