the Mount post-game

First, a couple of links. In case you missed them, here's the gamer  from today, and Bob Molinaro's column sizing up where the Monarchs stand heading to Dayton, and beyond.

This was about as routine as 26-point wins get. As we've seen before (Bethune-Cookman, Longwood, Liberty) the Monarchs physically overwhelmed a smaller opponent, punishing Mount St. Mary's defensively, on the glass, and offensively around the basket.

The "effort' stats were there - 50 rebounds, 11 steals, 18 forced turnovers. The offense continues to look like a work in progress, though, and will need to run more efficiently as ODU again steps up in competition.

The Monarchs shot just 38 percent themselves and again were icy (3 for 13) from behind the arc. Had it been for their huge size advantage on the boards, this one might have been closer.

"They were able to get so many second-chance opportunities on offensive rebounds," MSM coach Milan Brown said.

Gerald Lee called it "one of those nights" offensively.

"It seemed like everybody was a little bit tired, but we had to just get the energy from ourselves and start going harder to the basket, and eventually we started making shots."

The energy began on the defensive end, where ODU mixed defenses. As noted in the game story, Kent Bazemore got things started in the man-to-man by clamping down on point guard Jeremy Goode.

"Thank God they were missing shots today," Lee said. "They have some pretty good scorers on that team."

ODU shared the ball, getting 18 assists. And had just 13 turnovers. Darius James' 14 points was a season-high.

-- Ed Miller

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