VCU rips ODU in Richmond

RICHMOND, Va. - Despite holding a halftime lead Old Dominion was unable to leave Richmond with a victory, dropping a 70-58 Colonial Athletic Association game against rival Virginia Commonwealth in front of a sold out crowd at the Siegel Center.

Old Dominion (18-7, 10-3 CAA) was led by sophomore Kent Bazemore's 12 points and six rebounds, while junior Frank Hassell chipped in 10 points to go along with five boards. Junior Ben Finney scored eight points and led the squad with eight rebounds.

The Monarchs were hurt by 16 turnovers and 33.3 percent second half shooting. ODU has had only six games this season with 16 or more turnovers.

Virginia Commonwealth (17-5, 9-4), winners of eight of its last nine games, was led by Bradford Burgess's game-high 16 points. Larry Sanders registered a double-double with 14 points and 12 boards.

Old Dominion controlled play for the first eight minutes and a Bazemore dunk off a well designed in-bounds play put the Monarchs up 18-8 at the 12:31 mark. VCU would quickly erase the deficit though as Ed Dixon drilled a three to cap a 16-5 Rams run that gave his team a 24-23 lead.

With both Hassell and senior Gerald Lee on the bench with foul trouble during the final minutes of the opening half, the Monarchs reserve players stepped up. Eight of ODU's final 10 points were scored by bench players, including five from senior Marsharee Neely. Old Dominion led by two, 33-31, at the intermission.

After a Bazemore jumper put ODU up by three (36-33) just over a minute into the second half, VCU went on an 11-2 run which gave the Rams a 44-38 lead at the 12:44 mark.