NORFOLK, Va. (ODUSports.com)– The Old Dominion men's basketball team (12-17, 8-8 C-USA) outscored Florida Atlantic (16-14, 8-9 C-USA) 17-12 in overtime to claim an 85-80 victory on Sunday afternoon at Chartway Arena. Malik Curry poured in a game-high 29 points (5-7 3PT), to compliment six assists, three rebounds and one steal, while Xavier Green followed with 22 points, four rebounds and four assists. Monarchs had a lead for 40:23 of the possible 45 minutes, while Florida Atlantic led for 2:11.
ODU extended its lead to 11, 47-36, at the 16:26 mark of the second half, before the Owls went on a 14-2 run, to claim their first lead of the game, 50-49, with 11:08 left to play. After seven lead changes, the Monarchs went on a 10-0 run to take a 66-57 lead with 3:59 remaining in the contest; however, FAU ended regulation on an 11-2 run to force overtime.
An Aaron Carver and-one extended ODU's lead to seven, 80-73, with 1:55 left in overtime, as FAU would get no closer than four the rest of the way. The Monarchs sealed the deal at the free-throw line, connecting on 10-11 (90.9%) during the extra session.
"I thought we played well in spurts," said ODU head coach Jeff Jones. "To score seventeen points in overtime is pretty good. Obviously, Malik and Xavier had outstanding games, but I'm not sure I would've believed you if you told me we would score 85 points with A.J. Oliver going 0-7 from the field. I think we panicked a little bit to allow FAU to get back into the game, but we didn't panic after that."
Also in double-figures for ODU was Joe Reece, who finished with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists, two blocks and one steal. Carver hauled down a game-high 11 rebounds in the win.
Sunday's contest experienced a total of 10 lead changes and four ties. For the game, ODU held advantages for points in the paint (49-35), rebounds (40-29) and points off turnovers (17-7).
Old Dominion claimed a 35-29 lead at halftime, behind a half-high 16 points (3-5 3PT, 7-8 FT) from Curry. ODU's bench outscored FAU's, 14-5, in the opening 20 minutes. The Monarchs shot 81.8% (9-11) from the free-throw line in the first half.
Block Cancer
The Monarchs wore Conference USA Block Cancer shirts during warmups in support of the Mike Slive Foundation and its Block Cancer initiative.
In partnership with Conference USA, the Mike Slive Foundation has created the Block Cancer initiative designed to eliminate prostate cancer by raising awareness and funding critical research. Through simple in-game integrations, Block Cancer events will highlight the life of Mike Slive, his contributions to college basketball, his battle with cancer, and how fans can make an impact by donating to the Mike Slive Foundation
Next Up: Senior Night
Old Dominion will return to the hardwood on Wednesday, March 4, when the Monarchs take on UTSA at Chartway Arena for a 7:00 p.m. tip. Wednesday night will mark Senior Night for ODU's Aaron Carver and Drew Lakey.
