 "Photo: Ayelet Daniel")
NEWARK, Del. — The men's basketball team dropped its sixth straight game to Old Dominion University Wednesday night 68-49 in a game of two distinctly different halves.
Alphonso Dawson led the way for the Hens with a team high 13 points, nine of those from three point range. Jawan Carter added 11 points in the contest, also with nine coming from behind the arc.
The Hens traded leads with the Monarchs throughout the first half, but they lost the lead with 3:23 left before halftime, never to see it again. Old Dominion's zone defense combined with the length of all their players proved too much for the Hens to overcome.
“I thought that their zone had an impact on the game,” head coach Monte Ross said. “Their length didn't let us penetrate the zone.”
The start of the second half saw Delaware (5-14, 1-7 CAA) battling valiantly against the Monarchs' (15-5, 7-1 CAA) lead, but a lack of an inside game caused forced shots from the perimeter and never allowed the offense to get on a roll. Old Dominion's two starting guards, Ben Finney and Kent Bazemore, accounted for seven of Delaware's 14 turnovers.
With 11 minutes left in the second half, Old Dominion showed why they're getting votes in the AP Top 25 poll each week. They turned up the defense, stepped up their offense and finished the game on a 26-9 run.
“They made a couple big shots, and we had some key turnovers that ignited their run,” Carter said.
Delaware fought hard on the boards to keep the game close, and finished the game with 35 rebounds, same as the Monarchs.
“The will was there from our guys, but I think their skill was greater than our will,” Ross admitted.
The Hens biggest mistake all game was their constant foul trouble. Every active Delaware player committed at least one foul, and the Monarch's 13-22 foul shooting compared to Delaware's 6-8 kept them in control. Sophomore redshirt Hakim McCullar led the Hens in fouls, fouling out in just 13 minutes on the court.
Old Dominion's Finney led all scorers on 6-9 shooting for 17 points. One of the Monarch's best players, forward Gerald Lee, fouled out after just 19 minutes with three points and two turnovers. Ross believed shutting him down would have been enough to stay competitive, along with forcing Old Dominion to play from beyond the arc.
The Hens plans failed, though, as the Monarchs beat them at their own game shooting 9-22 in 3-pointers, while Delaware made just seven of its 21 attempts.
“I think it's evident why they were picked to win the league,” said Ross. “They're very balanced - one of the keys of the game tonight was to force them to shoot outside. We wanted them to beat us from there, and unfortunately, they did.”
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