Monarchs’ defense smothers Charlotte
NORFOLK — As finishes go, it was about as pretty as they come.
The start wasn’t bad either.
Kalu Ezikpe scored 13 points and Old Dominion turned the screws defensively with a dose of late acrobatics Saturday in a dominant 64-45 Conference USA win over Charlotte at Chartway Arena.
The victory, combined with Wednesday’s 78-76 overtime triumph, completed a season sweep of the 49ers (9-11, 5-7 C-USA). It also kept ODU (11-5, 7-3) firmly in the hunt in C-USA’s tight East Division with six games left in the regular season.
Saturday’s win included both a milestone and a dunk destined for the highlight shows.
Monarchs guard Xavier Green scored his 1,000th career point early in the second half, but it was what teammate Austin Trice did later that might be better remembered.
With just under three minutes to play and the outcome all but decided, Trice took a half-court transition pass from A.J. Oliver with his back to the basket and slammed it down, giving the Monarchs a 64-41 lead and riling the few fans allowed to be in attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Asked about the 6-foot-7 Oliver’s improvised alley
oop, Green, a senior, was incredulous.
“What? What?” Green said. “‘SportsCenter.’ I was like, ‘Whoa!’ We ain’t seen that in a while at ODU.”
A reader of the box score might have a similar reaction. ODU held the 49ers to 28.6% shooting and turned 16 turnovers into 23 points.
Road-weary Charlotte didn’t reach double figures until the 3:21 mark in the first half.
It was the kind of defensive effort coach Jeff Jones said he looks for every night.
“If we could hold our opponents to 28% from the field and 17 (percent) from the 3, I would gladly take that,” said Jones, who challenged his team after a lackluster pregame shootaround. “I thought we came in with energy.”
The Monarchs, meanwhile, shot 47.4 percent and made 5 of 17 from 3-point range. But it was the defensive performance that proved most effective.
“All we want to do is get stops and push the ball, get those easy transition buckets,” Green said. “We’ve been working lately on building a bigger lead and coming out with a strong start.”
Jhery Matos scored 11 points for the 49ers, who trailed by as many as 24 points midway through the second half.
Oliver and Jaylin Hunter both scored 11 for ODU.
ODU absolutely smothered the visitors in the first half. Charlotte went 3 for 20 from the floor and saw the Monarchs turn 13 turnovers into 18 points, resulting in a 30-14 ODU lead at the half.
The Monarchs, behind 14-of-30 shooting, used bursts of 8-0 and 13-0 to build a lead that grew a large as 28-9 before the break.
So much for Jones’ fear that his team would come out flat, which is what prompted him to call out about half his players after the shoot-around.
“Rather than being angry after the game and talking about it, I figured it was better to be proactive and at least address it at that point,” Jones said. “The players, I’m sure, would tell you that I definitely read them wrong and that they were ready to play.”
The Monarchs visit Alabama Birmingham for two games beginning Friday before a home series against Middle Tennessee and a road trip to Western Kentucky.
The latter series makes up for games postponed when ODU paused for a COVID-19 outbreak within the team.