Old Dominion Pulls Away Late To Post 59-50 Victory Over Delaware in CAA Men's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals
March 5, 2011
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Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell
RICHMOND, Va. -- Second-seeded Old Dominion used a 9-2 spurt to break a tie midway through the second half and held off No. 7 seed Delaware, 59-50, Saturday night at the Richmond Coliseum in the Virginia 529 College Savings Plan Colonial Athletic Association Men's Basketball Championship Quarterfinals.
Old Dominion, which won its seventh straight game while improving to 25-6 on the season, advances to the tournament semifinals to face either Hofstra or William & Mary. The Blue Hens end their season with a 14-17 record, doubling their win total from a year ago.
First team All-CAA selection Frank Hassell posted a double-double for the Monarchs with 24 points and 10 rebounds, while second team selection Kent Bazemore added 11 points and five boards. Ben Finney contributed nine points and four assists for Old Dominion, which recorded a 36-25 rebounding advantage and enjoyed a 34-16 margin in points in the paint.
Senior guard Jawan Carter, a third team All-CAA pick, led the Blue Hens with 24 points and hit 5 of 10 three-pointers to post his 13th 20-point game of the season. Carter finishes his UD career with 1,542 career points, fifth-most in school history. Sophomore Jamelle Hagins added 12 points on 6 of 7 shooting from the field to go with team-highs of seven rebounds and four blocks, while Devon Saddler concluded his spectacular freshman season by posting nine points and four assists.
The Blue Hens, who split two regular season meetings with Old Dominion, led by as many as nine points in the first half and were still even at 35-35 with 10:10 remaining following a three-pointer by Saddler.
But Old Dominion would score nine of the next 11 points, including the final two baskets by Keyon Carter, to take its largest lead to that point at 44-37 with seven minutes remaining.
The margin eventually grew to double figures at 50-39 following a Darius James jumper, before Jawan Carter drilled a three-pointer to bring UD within eight at the four-minute mark.
Keyon Carter answered with a baseline jumper for the Monarchs but Delaware would not go away, as a three-pointer by Brian Johnson cut the margin to 52-45 with 2:07 to go.
Then after Hassell converted inside, Saddler buried a three-pointer to make it a six-point game with 1:26 remaining. However Hassell hit three free throws over the Monarchs' next two possessions to extend the ODU lead to nine, and the Blue Hens would not threaten from there.
Old Dominion shot 47.9 percent from the game while limiting Delaware to 38.8 percent, and made seven more free throws than the Blue Hens.
"It was a very hard-fought and well-played game, and every time we play them it's a battle," said fifth-year Blue Hen head coach Monté Ross. "We got some big stops in the second half, but their offensive rebounding really hurt us in the final 10 minutes. Their length in the zone caused us a little bit of a problem down the stretch as well."
"I cantt say enough about Jawan's and Brian's effort, not just tonight but the entire season. I'd be remiss if I didn't say that I feel blessed to have been able to coach this group."
After the game was tied at 4-4 early on, Hagins hit a jumper and Carter connected from well beyond the three-point line to give the Blue Hens a five-point lead six minutes into the contest. Carter then connected on a pair of three-pointers on consecutive possessions to extend the UD advantage to 17-8, before the Monarchs quickly reeled off six straight points to pull within three at the eight-minute mark.
Old Dominion took its first lead of the game on a Trian Iliadis three-pointer but the Blue Hens would quickly answer, as Saddler scored inside and Carter buried his fourth triple of the half to put UD back in front 24-20 with four minutes to play.
Hassell then scored twice to knot the contest again, before Saddler hit one free throw to put Delaware back in the lead. However Finney hit a three-pointer at the 1:33 mark, and the Monarchs took a slim 27-25 lead into the break.
The Monarchs scored the first three points of the second half to open up a five-point margin, but Hagins converted a pair of dunks as Delaware closed to within 30-29 with 16 minutes to play. Bazemore recorded a three-point play to extend the ODU margin to four but the Blue Hens would then hold the Monarchs scoreless for over three minutes, while a jumper by Hagins and a free throws by Carter again made it a one-point game with 12 minutes to play.
Following a Bazmore basket, Saddler drained a three-pointer to tie the game at 35-35 with 10:10 remaining, but the Monarchs would take control from there.
Delaware, which was looking for its first appearance in the CAA Tournament Semifinals since 2003, dropped its fifth consecutive conference semifinal game.
