NORFOLK, Va. - Old Dominion placed four players in double figures scoring and held off a second half VMI rally to post a 74-52 win over the Keydets Monday night before a crowd of 5,121 spectators at the Ted Constant Center in Norfolk, Va.
The Keydets, playing without starters Radee Skipworth and Tim Allmond (sprained ankles), put up a spirited effort and tried to contain the Monarchs by controlling tempo, but strong outside shooting and points off of turnovers allowed ODU to secure its third straight win.
VMI trailed 34-20 at the break, but outrebounded ODU 11-2 on the boards in the opening ten minutes of the second half and cut the lead to 46-38 when Sam Mielnik hit a hook shot with 9:38 left.
The Monarchs responded with seven straight points on a a layup by Arnaud Dahi, a 3-pointer by John Waller, and a layup by Waller. The 7-0 run keyed a 19-5 spurt over nearly seven minutes that produced ODU's biggest lead (65-43) with 2:41 left. The margin was later matched by the final score.
Dahi led the Monarchs (5-4) with 15 points and was followed by Isaiah Hunter with 14, Valdus Vasylius with 11, and Alex Loughton with 10 points.
VMI guard Richard Little led the Keydets with 17 points while Sam Mielnik added 11 points and career-high eight rebounds.
Sophomore center Tadas Mankevicius, making his first career-start, pulled down a career-high nine rebounds and scored eight points.
ODU shot 51.7% in the second half and 47.5% for the game, while VMI finished 21 of 53 from the floor for 39.6%. The Keydets, who generated 36 points in the paint for the game, did not hit a 3-pointer until Little canned two of them in the final 2:29 of the game.
The Monarchs nailed eight treys in the game including two by Hunter and two by Waller. Neither squad was sharp from the free throw line with VMI missing nine of 17 from the stripe while ODU hitting just six of 14 from the line.
Allmond's absence , created when the junior center sprained his left ankle in Saturday night's practice, forced VMI to employ its fourth different starting lineup of the season. The Keydet starting lineup Monday was missing four players who were projected to start the 2003-04 campaign : forward Skipworth (ankle spain, day-to-day), center Allmond (ankle sprain, day-to-day), guard Levar Joseph (academic casualty, out for year) and power forward Preston Beverly (knee surgery, out for year).
VMI opens its inaugural season in the Big South Conference Saturday at UNC Asheville (4:30 p.m.). ODU hosts Drexel Saturday at 1:00 in the CAA opener for both teams.
HEAD COACH BART BELLAIRS - "We kind of look like a MASH unit right now. In the summer, we penciled in a lineup that had four starters who weren't there tonight. I thought our effort tonight was tremendous. Our game plan was very good - I give a lot of credit to our coaches. It was our offensive execution that cost us tonight. We had some guys that were playing out of position. We were very thin. Our defense was good enough to win the ballgame, but our offense wasn't. When I saw ODU on film, I thought this was a squad that is good enought to win the CAA. They are very talented and unselfish and their inside-outside game is strong."
