Staff report
NORFOLK, Va. ó Every member of Old Dominion’s active roster scored, and the Monarchs shot 53 percent from the floor in an 81-48 victory over Charlotte on Wednesday.
Coming off a 61-57 victory over Georgetown, the Monarchs (8-4) snapped Charlotte’s seven-game winning streak.
Shamari Spears, the 49ers’ leading scorer at 17.9 points per game, had 12 points and two rebounds. K.J. Sherrill had one point and two boards in 16 minutes.
DiJuan Harris, who had been averaging 10.6 points per game, scored one point.Charlotte (9-2) had not lost since falling at Duke in mid-November.
Old Dominion led 40-13 at halftime, limiting the 49ers to 4-for-25 shooting, and finished with a 47-26 advantage on the glass.
The game opened up with the Monarchs taking a 15-5 lead by the 13:14 mark. After Marsharee Neely drained a 3-pointer, Charlotte’s Phil Jones came right back with a 3 of his own.
Jones’ bucket cut the 49ers’ deficit to seven points, but they got no closer. Charlotte didn’t score for another 51/2 minutes.
By then, the Monarchs had established a 27-9 lead.
Charlotte entered the game averaging 80.1 points as the top scoring team in the Atlantic-10. Old Dominion ranks second nationally in scoring defense and showed why with its dominant first half.
ODU led by as many as 37 points late in the game.
Gerald Lee had a team-high 16 points for the Monarch. Trian Illiadis (13 points), Kent Bazemore (11) and Frank Hassell (10) also reached double figures.
The 49ers return to action Tuesday at home against Mercer.
Old Dominion will next face Duquesne, the Monarchs’ fourth Atlantic 10 opponent, on Wednesday at the Constant Center. The Monarchs have won nine straight at home.