ODU shuts down Charlotte's 7-0 streak, 81-48

NORFOLK

So much for a potential post-Georgetown letdown.

Four days after dumping the No. 11 Hoyas, Old Dominion turned in an arguably more impressive performance Wednesday night, sending a streaking Charlotte team home an 81-48 loser at the Constant Center.

Hotter teams may have rolled into the Ted in late December, but it was hard to remember when. The 49ers (9-2) had won seven straight, by an average of 20 points. They'd put up 83 points a game during that stretch and shot 57 percent.

Charlotte would have needed a second-half miracle to hit those averages Wednesday. Its first-half totals: 13 points, on 4 of 25 shooting.

"Obviously, a spectacular first half defensively," ODU coach Blaine Taylor said.

And not bad offensively. Keyon Carter hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put the Monarchs up 27. Gerald Lee and Ben Finney had four assists each.

There was no letup in the second half. The performance was reminiscent of some of ODU's early-season blowouts. Everyone played. Everyone scored. ODU shared the ball, dominated the boards and imposed its will defensively.

Except those wins were over the likes of Bethune-Cookman, Longwood and Liberty, not a well-regarded Charlotte team that beat Louisville by 22 points Dec. 5.

Nothing in the recent history of the series between the 49ers and Monarchs suggested a night like this was in store. Last year, it took a Jonathan Adams 3-pointer at the buzzer for ODU to prevail. In their previous meeting, the teams battled into double overtime.

"To sit here and have this kind of outcome, I really think it's a credit to our guys, that we did a lot of things right," Taylor said. "A lot of kids did a lot of different things right."

Lee scored 16 points on 8- of-10 shooting, and grabbed seven rebounds. Trian Iliadis shot 5 for 7 and Kent Bazemore 5 for 8.

Bazemore hounded Charlotte point guard Dijuan Harris into a one-point, three-assist night, with help from Marquel De Lancey. Lee and the other inside players kept the ball away from bulky forward Shamari Spears, Charlotte's leading scorer. He finished with 12 points, six below his average, after shooting 1 for 8 in the first half.

"We did a good job, because on their highlight video he was just scoring around the basket, easy baskets," Lee said.

Nothing came easy for Charlotte on Wednesday. Meanwhile, ODU put together more than a few highlights of its own. There were tip dunks by Bazemore and Frank Hassell and high-arcing 3-pointers by Iliadis (2 for 4) and Keyon Carter (2 for 3). No-look assists from Finney.

"Our chemistry is really really getting better," Bazemore said.

As is the team, which in the last two games has looked like the one it was projected to be rather than the one that dropped four of its previous six prior to beating Georgetown.

"We knew they were good," Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz said. "They were even better in person."

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