Dukes lose royally

Monarchs sweep season-series

Jonathan Taylor / contributing photographer JMU sophomore forward Eddie Greene-Long attempts to post up an Old Dominion defender in Saturday night's game. Green-Long finished the night with 2 points in three minutes.

The Old Dominion University Monarchs came into the Convocation Center Saturday night and showed why they’ve been the team to beat in the Colonial Athletic Association all season.

ODU (15-3, 25-5) opened the game on a 28-3 run, led 41-22 at halftime and defeated the Dukes (6-21, 3-15) 82-60 in front of 3,572 fans on JMU senior night.

"They have all the components that make up a championship team," JMU coach Dean Keener said of ODU. "Depth, talent, inside-outside combination and confidence."

The Monarchs showcased a balanced scoring attack, with four players in double-figures. Forward Valdas Vasylius led the way with 16, guard Isaiah Hunter had 15, center Alex Loughton and guard Drew Williamson added 10 apiece.

"I’m very pleased with our team’s performance," ODU coach Blaine Taylor said. "The start of the game was pretty impressive. I thought we shared the basketball and played very unselfishly. We made good decisions."

Conversely to ODU’s fast start, the Dukes shot 23 percent from the floor in the first half. In the game’s first 8:31, sophomore forward Cavell Johnson was the only JMU player in the scoring column.

"We wanted to set the tone on defense," Hunter said. "We were pleased with the way we came out."

Keener said, "They were able to jump on us early. I mean [the lead] was 22. It felt like 32 or 42."

ODU’s biggest first-half lead was 25, at the end of its game-opening 28-3 run. Despite outscoring the Monarchs 19-13 the rest of the first half, the Dukes would get no closer than their 19-point halftime deficit.

"It was just Old Dominion being so efficient," Keener said. "They stepped up and made shots and they run their stuff so well."

The Monarchs made 16 of 29 first half shots, shooting 55.2 percent from the floor in the opening period.

"They just make you pay if you’re a step slow or get hung up on a screen," Keener said.

Hunter and Vasylius particularly made the Dukes pay, combining to shoot 11 of 18 from the floor and 5 of 10 from 3-point range for the game.

"My teammates did a good job of getting me open," Hunter said. "I didn’t really have to come off the dribble a lot today. I was just shooting."

The Dukes were led by Johnson, who shared game-high honors with 16 points. Sophomore guard Ray Barbosa had 12, all in the second half and all on 3-point shots. JMU’s shooting woes improved in the second half as the Dukes connected on 14 of 27 shots.

"The only thing going through my head was we had to bounce back," Johnson said. "We dug ourselves a hole and we just thought we could bounce back out of it."

But ODU made sure that hole was too deep to climb out of. The Monarchs opened the second half on a 16-6 run, increasing their lead to 57-28 with 16:20 left in the game.

"They played much better and harder in the second half," Vasylius said. "But we had a big lead, we were up 20."

JMU is next in action Friday, when it opens the CAA tournament against the College of William & Mary at the Coliseum in Richmond. Tip off is 5:30 p.m.