Dec. 30, 2009

Box Score

NORFOLK, VA. - Gerald Lee scored 15 of his game-high 24 points in the second half to lead Old Dominion to a 63-54 win over Duquesne at the Constant Center.

ODU (9-4), which entered the game ranked second nationally in scoring defense, held Duquesne to a season-low 2-of-18 (.111) from the 3-point arc in upping its home win streak to 10.

Duquesne, which was led by freshman Sean Johnson's 17 points, completed the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 9-5 record.

Damian Saunders posted his nation-leading 11th double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Dukes. The 6-7 junior barely missed posting the second triple-double in school history with a career-high nine blocks.

Old Dominion, which led by 11 with 12:28 to go, saw the Dukes cut it to three on a Johnson dunk with 9:14 to go. The Dukes trailed 49-45 at the 6:21 mark before the Monarchs went on an 8-2 run to take a 10-point lead on a Lee layup with just under two minutes remaining. Duquesne, which finished with 20 turnovers, turned it over four times during the run.

DU trailed by six with 51 seconds left, but could get no closer as ODU hit 6-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal its second consecutive win over an Atlantic 10 team.

"We played well enough defensively to win," said Duquesne head coach Ron Everhart. "We just turned it over way too many times, especially down the stretch. I was pleased with our effort, but its tough to win with 20 turnovers."

Old Dominion, which was coming off an 81-48 win over A-10 member Charlotte on Dec. 23, entered the game giving up an average of 53.9 points per game.

Both teams struggled to score with Old Dominion finishing at 35.4 percent and Duquesne, which had 12 shots blocked, shooting 32.2 percent. The Dukes forced 16 ODU turnovers, but couldn't find an answer for the 6-10 Lee, who was 7-of-10 in the second half.

Neither team led by more than five in a first half that saw four ties and five lead changes. ODU finished with a 5-0 run to take a 28-23 lead into the locker room. Duquesne never led in the second half.

Bill Clark and Eric Evans, who set new career highs for steals (6) and rebounds (6) added 10 points each for Duquesne.

Duquesne returns home to face Richmond on Wednesday, Jan. 6. The game, set for a 7:00 p.m. tip, will be the Atlantic 10 opener for both schools.

NOTES

• Damian Saunders posted his nation-leading 11th double-double of the season (11-10) ... he missed posting the second triple-double in school history by one block ... his nine rejections eclipsed his career high of seven set three games ago vs. Canisius ... Saunders has blocked 26 shots in his past five games.

• Saunders' 11 double-doubles are the most by a Duquesne player since Derrick Alston had 12 in 1992-93 (Duquesne's lone season as a member of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference) ... all of Saunders' 18 career double-doubles have come in his past 45 games ... Saunders entered the game ranked third nationally in rebounds per game.

• Sean Johnson scored 14 of his career-high 17 points in the second half ... Johnson's previous career best was 10 vs. Robert Morris on Dec. 12 ... Johnson, who played 20 minutes, was 7-of-12 from the field and added a career-high five rebounds.

• Old Dominion entered the game with an RPI of 34, Duquesne's was 97 ... ODU is now 23-3 at the Constant Center over the past two seasons ... the Monarchs went 2-2 against Atlantic 10 schools with road losses at Richmond (67-60) and at Dayton (58-50) and home wins over Charlotte (81-48) and Duquesne (63-54).