[Westside]

NORFOLK, Va. – A 50-point second half from the Marshall men’s basketball team was not enough to seal the Old Dominion Monarchs, as it fell, 82-76, at the Ted Constant Convocation Center on Saturday night.

“I’m proud of the way we fought,” head coach Dan D’Antoni said. “There were maybe one of two mistakes that if we turn those around, we are looking at a win. I don’t want to take anything away from Old Dominion. We played a team that has good size. We’re going to get there and be competitive when we’re healthy.”

With the loss, Marshall fell to 12-6 (3-2 in Conference USA), while Old Dominion improved to 13-4 (4-1 in C-USA).

Junior guard C.J. Burks had a game-high 24 points, while junior guard Jon Elmore added 18 points and seven assists. Junior forward Dani Koljanin had a career-high 11 points. Old Dominion’s B.J. Stith led the Monarchs with 20 points.

Marshall’s first half woes happened when the Herd shot 10-of-30 (33.3 percent) from the field and 2-of-12 (16.7 percent) from three-point land, while the Monarchs shot 17-of-35 (48.6 percent) from FGs. Both sides traded baskets to leave the game tied at 18-18 with 9:02 left of the half. From there,

Old Dominion went on a 15-4 run to make the score 33-22 at the 3:55 mark. In that run, the Herd missed all nine of its shots. The Monarchs’ hot run continued from there to close out the half with a 40-26 advantage.

“They’re a good defensive ball club,” D’Antoni said. “I told them to move the ball more at halftime, so we could get off better shots and we did that.”

Stith led all scorers with 12 points in the first half, while Burks had nine points. ODU won the battle in the paint, 21-12, off turnovers, 5-4, with second chance points, 9-4, and with fast breaks, 7-2.

Marshall’s shooting slump continued in the second half as the Herd missed its first six shots, while Old Dominion went on a 10-1 run to begin with 16:54 to play.

Marshall showed signs of life when it went on a 13-6 run to make the game 56-40 with 12:02 to go. The run came thanks to the efforts of junior guard Rondale Watson, who made two three-pointers, Koljanin, who made a layup and Burks, who made a three-pointer.

Marshall’s comeback continued from there after it went on another 17-6 run to trim the deficit to six points. Burks scored eight points during the run, and Koljanin added four on his part and Elmore made a layup.

Old Dominion went on a run of its own, but the Herd cut Old Dominion’s lead to 75-70 with 55 seconds after Elmore found Koljanin for the layup. Elmore scored six points in the final minute, but it was not enough to help Marshall overcome Old Dominion’s lead.

“I thought Koljanin had his best game tonight,” D’Antoni said. “That was the guy I saw in the summer that I wanted on this team. I’m hoping he’ll get the flow more. He’s more of a mature type of player and that’s something we will need.”

UP NEXT
The Herd will return to the Henderson Center to welcome the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders on Thursday, Jan. 18, at 8 p.m. The game will be broadcasted on beIN.

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