NORFOLK, Va. – Four Monarchs scored in double-figures to lift the Old Dominion men’s basketball team (1-1) over Saint Joseph’s (1-1) by an 82-69 score on Sunday afternoon at Chartway Arena. After trailing by as many as 12 in the first half, Old Dominion ended the game on a 17-4 run and outscored SJU 48-31 in the second half.
The Monarchs erased a four-point halftime lead by opening up the second half on a 13-3 run to claim a 47-41 lead with 13:56 to play in the second half. A Jason Wade and-one gave the Monarchs another six-point lead, 61-55 at the 7:09 mark. The Hawks tied the contest at 65-65, before Old Dominion outscored Saint Joseph’s 17-4 the rest of the way.
“The fact that Saint Joe’s didn’t score a fast break point today is a huge stat for us,” explained ODU head coach Jeff Jones. “It was something we emphasized in practice this week, but to hold that team to zero transition points is pretty amazing. As amazing as Aaron’s 20 rebounds are, I think zero points for them in transition was the key to this game.”
Xavier Green led the way for ODU, pouring in 18 points and hauling down a career-high 10 rebounds. Marquis Godwin followed with 17 points (5-8 3PT FG), to go along with seven boards. Malik Curry scored a career-high 12 points, while Jason Wade went for 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists and five steals. Aaron Carver tied his career-high of 20 rebounds to compliment eight points.
For the game, ODU held advantages for bench points (27-18), points in the paint (28-10), blocks (8-2) and rebounds (53-43).
Old Dominion’s defense held the Hawks to 27.3% (9-33) shooting from the floor in the second half.
After trailing by as many as 12 in the opening 20 minutes, ODU ended the first half on a 9-1 run to cut its deficit to four, 38-34. The Hawks shot 52.6% (10-19) from three-point range in the first half, while ODU connected on 50.0% (5-10) from deep. Godwin led the way for the Monarchs with nine first half points.