NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion men’s basketball team (15-5, 5-2 C-USA) erased a 12-point first half deficit to take down Charlotte (5-13, 2-5 C-USA) by a 76-70 score on Monday afternoon at Halton Arena. Monday marked the fourth time this season that the Monarchs came back from a double-digit deficit to claim victory this season (vs. WKU: 21, vs. VCU: 17 and at No. 25 Syracuse: 13).
After trailing by 11 (35-24) early in the second half, ODU utilized a 37-11 run to claim a 61-46 lead with 6:03 to play in the contest, ultimately leading to the Monarchs fourth consecutive win. Old Dominion has won 13 of its last 15 games.
B.J. Stith (seven rebounds and two assists) led four Monarchs in double-figures with 22 points. Ahmad Caver followed with 20 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Kalu Ezikpe finished with 12 points and four rebounds, while Xavier Green chipped in 10 points, two rebounds and two assists.
“I’m happy with the win,” said ODU head coach Jeff Jones. “I’m glad we finally decided to play, it certainly took us a while to get going. Thank goodness we responded. In the second half, we looked sharp and our defense really stepped up.”
ODU shot 50.0% (12-24) from the floor in the second half, while holding Charlotte to 36.4% (8-22) from the floor in the final 20 minutes. Old Dominion outscored the 49ers 52-36 in the second half.
For the ballgame, ODU held advantages for points in the paint (22-6), points off turnovers (22-8), bench points (20-13) and steals (10-5). The game experienced six lead changes and three ties.
The 49ers claimed a 10-point lead, 34-24, at halftime. The Monarchs were led by Caver and Wade, who each scored five points in the opening 20 minutes.
Old Dominion will return to the hardwood on Thursday, Jan. 24, when the Monarchs travel to El Paso, Texas for a 9:00 p.m. ET showdown at UTEP. Thursday night’s game will air on ESPN+.
Jeff Jones and the rest of the ODU coaching staff wore tennis shoes during today’s game in support of Coaches vs. Cancer. For the past 25 years, the Coaches vs. Cancer program, in collaboration with the National Association of Basketball Coaches, has united coaches and fans nationwide to help the American Cancer Society defeat a common enemy – cancer.
Through fundraising and education initiatives, the Coaches vs. Cancer program has supported the American Cancer Society in improving and saving lives from cancer in the US and worldwide. The fight isn’t over, and we need you on our team.
For more information, please visit: HERE.