1-1
Old Dominion
2-0
Bulls Fall At Old Dominion In Road Opener
11/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NORFOLK, VA – The Old Dominion Monarchs extended the fifth longest home winning streak in the nation on Monday evening as ODU defeated the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York men's basketball team, 77-58. The loss evens UB's record to 1-1 on the year.
The Bulls, who are playing four straight games away from home as part of the Hall of Fame Tipoff Tournament, were unable to overcome a slow first half that saw UB get outscored, 37-20. Trey Freeman led the Monarchs with 18 of his game-high 22 points in the opening half.
After taking an early 2-1 lead, the host Monarchs went on a 16-3 run as they took a 17-5 lead just seven minutes into the game. ODU extended its first half lead to 27-9 with 9:13 left, but a jumper from junior Blake Hamilton pulled the Bulls back within 11 at 29-18 with 6:11 remaining. UB continued to have chances to pull within single digits, but ODU responded with an 8-0 run to go up 37-18. The Bulls went into the half trailing by 17.
In the second half, the Bulls were outscored by just two points, despite sending Old Dominion to the line 22 times in the final 20 minutes. Old Dominion took its largest lead of the game with 7:14 left following a three pointer from Jordan Baker as the Monarchs went ahead 67-41. ODU continued to hold at least a 20-point advantage for most of the second half until two late David Kadiri free throws made it the final margin of defeat, 77-58.
"I thought Old Dominion outplayed us tonight," said head coach Nate Oats. "They played harder, they played smarter, they executed their offense and we took a lot of bad, contested shots early."
Senior Jarryn Skeete led the Bulls with 12 points and five rebounds, while fellow senior Rodell Wigginton added nine points. Hamilton also added nine points off the bench. Junior Willie Conner had six points, as did Kadiri, who was making his season debut.
Freshman CJ Massinburg added five points, all from the free throw line, while he also led the Bulls in assists on the night.
UB outrebounded its opponent, 39-37, grabbing 20 offensive rebounds, which led to 22 more shot attempts. However, the Bulls hit just 30.8% from the field. Old Dominion held the advantage in free throw attempts at 37-23, while both teams finished with the same amount of turnovers.
The Bulls will remain on the road Wednesday night when they face St. Joseph's. Game time is set for 7:00 pm.
