March 13, 2012

Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. - Richard Ross came off the bench to score 19 points as the Old Dominion Monarchs held off the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 68-66 in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament at Constant Convocation Center.

Coastal led by four points at the 9:54 mark of the second half but Old Dominion would go on an 13-0 run that included three 3-pointers to take a 62-53 lead with 6:39 on the game clock. The Chanticleers would not go away however, as they climbed back to take a 66-65 lead with 2:07 left on a McLaurin layup. A Ross bucket on the other end proved to be the game-winner for ODU as Anthony Raffa missed a 3-pointer as time expired.

Donte Hill added 14 points for Old Dominion (21-13), while Kent Bazemore added 10 points. Chris Cooper grabbed 10 rebounds for the Monarchs, who will await to see who they will take on in the second round, as the CIT re-seeds after every round. Ross entered the game with two 3-pointers on the season but nailed two clutch treys and hit the front end of a one-and-one to give the Monarchs a two-point win.

For Coastal Carolina (19-12), Sam McLaurin scored a career-high 20 points, while Raffa tallied 17 points and Kierre Greenwood dished out eight assists.

Despite shooting just 35 percent from the field in the opening stanza, ODU attempted 14 more shots than Coastal Carolina in the first half and took a 37-36 lead into the break.

After turning the ball over 10 times in the first half, Coastal was limited to three in the second while ODU committed nine second-half turnovers. ODU turned the ball over on its first three possessions of the second half as Coastal continued its 7-0 run to end the first half with six straight to open the second period.

Bisi Addey added a career-high eight rebounds and Warren Gillis tied a career-high with nine points.

ODU won the battle on the glass, 43-33, which included 24 offensive rebounds.