Late free throws help ODU clinch a win over East Carolina

NORFOLK

Every trip to the line was a crapshoot, for both teams. Miss one, make one. Free-throw percentages, like the late November temperatures, hovered around 50.

Then, with 9.8 seconds left, Old Dominion’s Dimtri Batten stepped to the line with the air of someone determined to put an end to the ugliness then and there.

Batten had not been to the line all game but had been the best offensive player on the floor. Fouled in the backcourt, he made the long walk to the line and drained a pair of free throws that iced a 63-58 ODU win over East Carolina on Tuesday night.

“I had no pressure,” he said. “Just take my time, breathe, and just let it go.”

If only it had been that easy all night. ODU made just 15 of 29 free throws, while ECU hit just 12 of 22.

The Monarchs made five of their final six, however, the story of a night in which they didn’t always do things well but made plays when they needed to.

Senior guard Marquel De Lancey scored just one bucket, but it came with 15.9 seconds left and it gave ODU a four-point lead. De Lancey knifed to the basket and scored on a layup, on a play called “5 up.”

ODU coach Blaine Taylor had called time out – his second of the possession – to set it up and to make sure ODU had its defense set.

The thought was that De Lancey would create a shot for someone else. Instead, he saw an opening and got to the rim.

“Like a breakaway touchdown,” Taylor said.

It was fitting, for a game that played like a scrum at times. ECU (4-2) shot just 33 percent. Guard Miguel Paul, who came in averaging 17 points, missed 15 of 19 shots – and 9 of 10 3-pointers – and finished with 10 points. ODU made just 4 of 18 3-pointers.

The Monarchs’ struggles were understandable. With a flu bug running through the team, ODU canceled practice Monday. Guard Kent Bazemore was among the ailing. He managed just five points on 2-of-8 shooting.

Batten helped pick up the slack, scoring 18 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Taylor was as happy with the latter as the former.

ODU had a 42-38 edge on the glass, and expended much of its energy there and on defense, figuring if it took care of those basics, the offense would come.

It did. Down 42-35 with 12 minutes to go, the Monarchs limited ECU to one field goal over the next six minutes, while ripping off 17 points themselves.

“Once we started to get stops, the shots started falling for us,” forward Nick Wright said.

Paul’s shots never did. Many came from well beyond the arc. ECU coach Jeff Lebo said he was happy with the shot selection.

“When your best shooter gets 10 looks you want to exploit that opportunity,” he said.

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