NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion men’s basketball team (14-5, 4-2 C-USA) was too much for Southern Miss (11-8, 3-4 C-USA), as the Monarchs claimed a 76-62 win on Saturday afternoon at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. ODU has now won 12 of its last 14 games.
With 14:30 remaining in the second half, the Golden Eagles pulled within six, 47-41, but would get no closer as ODU led by as many as 22 with 55 seconds to play.
Ahmad Caver led the Monarchs with 19 points, eight assists, four rebounds and four steals. B.J. Stith followed with 17 points and seven rebounds. Xavier Green chipped in 13 points, five assists and four rebounds. Jason Wade scored a career-high 10 points to go along with three rebounds, three steals and two assists. Dajour Dickens finished with five points, a team-high nine rebounds and three blocks in 18 minutes of work.
For the contest, ODU held advantages for second chance points (24-9), offensive rebounds (23-9), total rebounds (45-32), bench points (24-12) and steals (9-1). Old Dominion held a lead for 33:58 of the possible 40 minutes.
“It was nice to have a game where we had a little breathing room at the end,” explained ODU head coach Jeff Jones. “Overall, this was a solid performance by our guys. This is a good win for us. Obviously, we have to rebound quickly and turn our focus to Charlotte, who defeated LA Tech earlier today.”
After trailing by as many as seven with 9:14 to play, ODU ended the first half on a 25-7 run to claim a 40-29 lead at the half, behind 13 points, four assists and four steals from Caver. Green (3-4 3PT) followed with nine points and five assists in the opening 20 minutes.
Old Dominion will return to the hardwood on Monday, Jan. 21, when the Monarchs travel to Charlotte for a 4:00 p.m. ET tip on ESPN+.