By Michael Petillo
Old Dominion used strong rebounding and defense to knock off Northeastern Saturday afternoon by a score of 76–69. ODU outrebounded the Huskies 36–26 — including a 14–6 margin on the offensive glass and an 11–3 second-chance points advantage — and pulled away during the last few minutes of what was, for the most part, a close game.
Old Dominion’s length and athleticism bothered Northeastern from the start, and the Monarchs jumped out to an early 13–3 lead. Husky senior guard Jordan Roland began to find his offense, scoring 18 of Northeastern’s 33 first-half points and trimming the Monarch lead to six by halftime.
In the second half, the Northeastern offense stagnated for long stretches, with no Husky stepping up as a consistent scoring option behind Roland. For ODU, guard Xavier Green turned on the offense with 18 of his 24 points coming in the second frame. The redshirt junior seemed to get a key bucket every time Northeastern got within striking distance.
Old Dominion’s aggressive defensive style forced 18 Husky turnovers and yielded 16 fast break points for the Monarchs, something Northeastern head coach Bill Coen lamented after the game.
“Usually when you play contrasting styles, it’s the team that executes the best at what they do and this is what they do,” he said. “We have to deal with aggressiveness. You can’t leave the ball out in public property, you have to put it away and be strong with it.”
Roland finished with 29 points (10–19 FG, 6–10 3FG), and at 31 per game he still leads college basketball. But while three Monarchs — Green, Jason Wade, and Malik Curry — finished in double figures, no Husky joined Roland in that category. Same goes for their scoring averages through four games; Bolden Brace is second on the team at 9.8 per game.
After two straight wins to open the season, the Huskies have dropped two straight. They conclude their opening stretch against Massachusetts teams Tuesday night against Holy Cross. Milton Posner and Matt Neiser will call the action, with coverage beginning at 6:45 PM ET.