Down and close to being out vs. tenacious rival, Monarchs roar

RICHMOND

After Old Dominion moved through to the CAA tournament finals Sunday, someone representing the media asked Blaine Taylor if beating VCU on this occasion constituted a "signature victory" for the program.

Taylor answered politely, if unremarkably. What could he say, really?

He could have scoffed and said that ODU, as the No. 1 seed, is the team to beat in this event.

He could have said that had VCU held on to its double-digit second-half lead, that would have been a signature victory for the Rams.

But Taylor wisely didn't say any of those things. Maybe he didn't even think them. He just made a few casual comments about how happy he was to win and moved on.

A lot of questions are asked after a game as fun and compelling as the one ODU and VCU played at the Richmond Coliseum.

People representing newspapers and TV throw things against the wall and see what sticks. They're looking for angles and turning points to a game that as often as not turns on random bounces of the ball or how often an official swallows his whistle.

This one clearly lived up to what people expect of the ODU-VCU rivalry. Down 12 with 12 minutes to go, the Monarchs looked like they were going home, before regrouping and sending the game into overtime.

"We got a little rattled there," Taylor acknowledged.

So what did ODU draw on when the game looked lost? How did the Monarchs take this game into overtime and come away with a 73-69 victory?

Point guard Darius James cited the experience of playing on the road against Georgetown and Northern Iowa.

"We were telling ourselves, we've been here before," he said. "Just keep playing."

Gerald Lee kept playing - and scoring - when ODU got the ball into his hands at crucial moments.

"Do your best when your best is needed," is one of Taylor's pet phrases.

Lee did just that, scoring 26 points, making 10 of 13 field goals.

"We really didn't run any special plays," James said. "Get G in the middle and work around him. That's what we did. Go down to your all-league player."

It's amazing how many times good things happen when a team gets the ball to its best player.

"It's because he's a senior," Taylor said, trying to explain Lee's determination to lead ODU back.

The team's only other senior, Marsharee Neely, also came up very big, hitting ODU's first 3-point shot of the day with less than five minutes remaining in regulation to cut VCU's lead to three.

Said Taylor: "I told the younger guys in the locker room; take note of the way the seniors battled."

As for this signature victory business, Taylor pointed out that "the show ain't over."

In other words, beating VCU isn't enough. Not when the goal is to snip the nets.

Anyone familiar with ODU's program understands the exaggerated role its Richmond nemesis plays in the sliding self-esteem of Monarch fans. But here's a suggestion for boosters: get over it.

Knocking off VCU in Norfolk or Richmond, regular season or postseason, needn't be a prime barometer of ODU success.

And now that ODU has won in front of a pro-VCU crowd at the Coliseum, even the impact of the venue is a moot point. Until next year, anyway.

Sunday's victory is expected to get ODU through to the NCAA tournament with an at-large berth, if needed. In tonight's final, William and Mary's best hope is for ODU to approach the game as if it already took care of business by beating VCU.

James says that won't happen. "I think everybody's mind is where it's supposed to be," he said.

The Tribe's focus is clear, too. It needs to earn the conference's automatic bid in order to do what no other W&M men's basketball team has ever done - reach the NCAA tournament.

That would be the definition of a signature victory.

Bob Molinaro (757) 446-2373, bob.molinaro@pilotonline.com