VMI stuns ODU 76-71

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - Stan Okoye scored 22 points to lead the Keydets of VMI to a 76-71 victory over Old Dominion (1-4) Wednesday night at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. 

ODU red-shirt sophomore Dimitri Batten led ODU with a career high 21 points.

VMI led by as many as 13, 47-34  at halftime as Okoye had 13 points and DJ Covington added 11. The Keydets shot .548 (17-31) while ODU shot .395 (15-38).

In the second half, the Monarchs rallied with a 23-10 run to tie the game at 57-57 on a layup by senior co-captain Donte Hill with 7:03 left.  After two more ties, ODU took the lead, 62-61 on a free throw by Batten. 

Donte Hill’s layup put ODU up 64-61 with a with 5:19 left, but Brian brown of VMI tied the game at 64

With a three-pointer, the Okoye put the Keydets back up for good at 66-64 with 3:29 left.

ODU would cut the led to two, 73-71 after a three-pointer by Dimitri Batten with 29 seconds left, but Rodney Glasgow broke free for a layup and also hit a free throw for the final 76-71 margin.

Batten hit 7-of-14 shots from the floor, including 4-for-7 from beyond the arc.  He also dished out

Four assists.  Hill added 13 points with four assists and Richard Ross scored 10 points.

ODU dominated the boards, 47-34 as Ross,and DeShawn Painter hauled down nine each for the Monarchs.  D.J. Covington led VMI with a game high 10 rebounds. Covington also blocked seven shots on the night. In all, VMI  blocked 10 Monarch shots.

VMI finished the evening shooting .483 (29-60) shooting from the floor, while ODU shot .411 (39-73).

Beside Okoye’s 22 points, Covington and Rodney Glasgow each scored 13 points for VMI, while

Nick Gore and Glasgow each dished out five assists.

The win ended ODU’s 12-game win streak against the Keydets and was VMI’s first over ODU since the 1977-78 season.

The Monarchs return to action Saturday night when they travel to Murray, Kentucky to take on the

Racers of Murray State at 8:02 p.m. (ET). The contest can be seen live on ESPN3.com.