NORFOLK, Va. (ODUSports.com) – The Old Dominion men's basketball team (11-5, 7-3 C-USA) cruised to a 64-45 victory over Charlotte (9-11, 5-7 C-USA) on Saturday afternoon at Chartway Arena. ODU's Xavier Green eclipsed the 1,000 career point milestone during the second half. The Monarchs have now won nine of their last 12 contests.
"I thought we came out today with a lot of energy," said ODU head coach Jeff Jones. "If we can hold our opponents to 28% shooting from the field and 17% from three, I would gladly take that. We didn't just play hard, I thought we played well defensively. Everyone did their job today. Give credit to our guys for coming out and being ready to play."
The Monarchs were led by Kalu Ezikpe's 13 points on 6-6 shooting from the floor, to go along with five rebounds and two assists. Also in double figures for ODU were A.J. Oliver II (four rebounds and three assists) and Jaylin Hunter (three rebounds and three assists), who each scored 11 points. Green finished with eight points and eight rebounds.
For the game Old Dominion held advantages for points in the paint (38-20), points off turnovers (23-9) and bench points (24-16). Saturday's contest only experienced one lead change.
ODU's defense held the 49ers to 14 points in the first half, as the Monarchs claimed a 30-14 advantage after the opening 20 minutes. ODU was led by Oliver II's nine points, while Ezikpe chipped in eight first half points.
Old Dominion will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 19, when the Monarchs travel to Birmingham for a 7:30 p.m. EST start against UAB. Friday night's contest will be televised on Stadium.
