Monarchs seek answers after third loss in row

RICHMOND

The Old Dominion locker room door stayed closed longer than usual Wednesday night. Inside, players held an impromptu meeting.

"We mainly just had a man-to-man talk, between the team," guard Marsharee Neely said. "We told each other what we think, how we feel. We opened up to each other, as brothers."

The occasion for this early season soul-searching? The Monarchs' third straight loss, 67-60, to Richmond.

The loss dropped ODU to 4-3 in this season of high expectations. Again, the Monarchs missed a chance for a quality out-of-conference win, letting a nine-point halftime lead slip away.

After a lost weekend in the South Padre Island Invitational, the Monarchs came here hoping to put that tournament behind them. Instead, South Padre followed them, in a sense. The Spiders, who won the South Padre event by beating Mississippi State and Missouri, tied up loose ends by dispatching ODU, the tournament's other semifinalist, back in their home gym.

Richmond (7-1) did it with 60 percent shooting in the second half, and by going 22 of 24 from the foul line.

The Spiders took control of the game with a 15-2 run to open the second half, and held on as ODU got within six with about two minutes to go. As in their losses to Missouri and Mississippi State in South Padre, the Monarchs missed makeable shots and failed to get key defensive stops down the stretch.

"We've played three really good teams, neutral and road," coach Blaine Taylor said. "A lot of teams are playing home games this time of year.

"We've bitten off a lot and we knew we'd take one on the chin here and there. There's certainly no cause to think there's not a lot of basketball ahead, a lot of good things."

That was the gist of the players' post-game meeting, Neely and point guard Darius James said.

"We had a long talk," James said. "We usually wait. All the players said how they felt."

"It starts with each person figuring out their roles again, doing soul searching and realizing what's wrong and what's right," Neely said. "The most important thing is that we stick together as a team."

ODU opened an 11-point lead in the first half, frustrating Richmond with a zone defense that had forward Ben Finney at the point. James banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the Monarchs to the locker room on a high note.

It didn't take long for momentum to shift in the second.

Richmond began swinging the ball more effectively, and knocking down 3-pointers, on shots in which the Monarchs relaxed "about half a heartbeat," Taylor said.

Forward Ryan Butler (13 points) made 3 of 5, and guard David Gonzalvez (13 points) made 2 of 4.

The Monarchs' perimeter touch deserted them, and with Richmond sagging inside on center Gerald Lee ( nine points) ODU had trouble scoring.

"We missed 3-foot shots in the paint and 2-foot putbacks," Taylor said.

Neely missed all five of his 3-point attempts. Trian Iliadis went 1 for 4. ODU went 5 of 21 from behind the arc.

It all added up to another night in which ODU was again forced to point to the big picture, and stress that the season is still young.

"Everybody would like this storybook ride through the season, and there aren't many people that have that," Taylor said.

Ed Miller, (757) 446-2372, ed.miller@pilotonline.com