NORFOLK, Va. – B.J. Stith scored 36 points, including 28 in the first half, and ripped down 10 rebounds to lead Old Dominion to a 100-62 victory over UTSA Thursday night in Conference USA action at Ted Constant Convocation Center.
UTSA (14-12, 7-6 C-USA) was paced by Jhivvan Jackson, who passed Devin Brown (483 points in 1998-99) for the Roadrunners' freshman scoring record with a 3-pointer at the top of the arc at the 8:23 mark of the second half, with 22 points on 8 of 15 shooting with five 3-pointers. Jackson now stands at 488 points in 26 career games, good for 18.8 points per outing.
Freshman sensation @jhivvan is not done yet!
— beIN COLLEGE SPORTS (@beINCOLLEGE) February 16, 2018
The six-time freshman of the week is not ready to go home just yet. This four point play could be the start of a big comeback for @UTSAMBB. pic.twitter.com/52IeJKC2cj
Stith, who finished the night 11 of 17 with four 3-pointers and 10 free throws, was joined in double-figures by Aaron Carver with 17, Randy Haynes with 19 and Ahmad Caver with 15. Caver also dished out a game-high 10 assists for his fifth double-double of the season The Monarchs (20-5, 11-2 C-USA) shot 52 percent overall, including 57 percent from deep. ODU totaled 15 3-poiners after averaging just 6.8 on the season coming into the game. The Monarchs controlled the boards 42-32 and outscored UTSA 26-18 in the paint.
Deon Lyle totaled 18 for the Roadrunners on 6 of 12 overall shooting, including a 5 of 9 effort from deep. UTSA was led on the boards by Byron Frohnen with seven and Giovanni De Nicolao dished out a team-high five assists. UTSA shot 40 percent from the field and 37 percent from beyond the arc.
UTSA started the game 4 of 6 from the field, but then missed six of its next seven shots as Old Dominion went on a 12-2 run to take a 23-9 lead less than seven minutes into the contest. Lyle and Jackson threes momentarily slowed the ODU attack; however, the Monarchs' answered with a 13-3 spurt over the next three minutes to double the Roadrunners up a 36-18. S. Stith fueled the run with nine points via a 3-point play, three free throws and a 3-pointer.
The Roadrunners pieced together a 10-4, including two of Lyle's three first-half triples, to trim the Monarchs' lead to 12 at 40-28 with 5:46 to go before the intermission. UTSA did not trim the Monarch lead to less than a dozen the rest of the half as ODU closed the stanza on a 12-8 run to take a 52-36 into the locker rooms.
The teams traded the first baskets of the second half, but 14-1 spurt, which included a trio of threes, in less than four minutes pushed the Monarchs ahead 68-39 at the 13:25 mark.
UTSA got no closer than 23 the rest of the way as ODU won its 12th game in 14 ties and ninth home contest of the season.
Up next
UTSA concludes its three-game road swing on Saturday at Charlotte. Tipoff from the 49ers Halton Arena is slated for 6 p.m. CT live on CUSA.tv.
Tweet #RunWithUs