Monarchs claim road win against Northeastern

BOSTON

Kent Bazemore lay on the court, taking inventory.

His surgically repaired left foot was OK. He'd taken care not to brace his fall with his wrists, so they were fine. After going up to contest a dunk attempt by Northeastern's Quincy Ford early in the second half, it didn't take Bazemore long to conclude that he'd taken the brunt of a hard tumble to the court on his chest.

"I was just trying to get my wind back," he said.

Bazemore did, and so did the Monarchs. After struggling through much of the first half and into the second against Northeastern's relentless pressure defense, ODU settled down and beat the traps, and the Huskies, 69-59, to bank an early Colonial Athletic Association road win.

"Any time you can go on the road and get a double-digit win, in this day and age, in this league, you really feel like you stole one," coach Blaine Taylor said.

Literally, in this case. Though Northeastern pressed from start to finish, it was the Monarchs who came up with 15 steals.

Bazemore had four. But it was less his disruptive presence on defense than his calming one on offense that allowed ODU (5-3, 1-0 CAA) to pull away.

"They really relied on Bazemore to be a one-man press break," Northeastern coach Bill Coen said.

ODU had expected the Huskies to press some. Northeastern (3-3, 0-1) went all-in, however, slapping a 2-2-1 full-court press on the Monarchs from the outset.

The intent was to create offense via defense, and to speed up ODU, which prefers a more-deliberate style.

It worked, in spurts. But with Bazemore and Trian Iladis doing most of the ballhandling and others pitching in to get the ball over halfcourt, the Monarchs eventually began knifing through the pressure for layups, or trips to the foul line.

"We still turned the ball over more than we wanted, but we took care of it when we needed to," Bazemore said.

ODU committed 17 turnovers, but that was five fewer than Northeastern.

The Monarchs also shot 34 free throws, to the Huskies' 16, and had a 35-30 edge on the glass.

"At key moments, they came up with big rebounds, which produced extra possessions, and extra points," Coen said.

More than half of ODU's rebounds were offensive. Though the Monarchs had occasional trouble finishing around the rim, they had better success at the line, hitting 27 of 34.

Bazemore made 11 of 13, and finished with a season-high 21 points, surpassing his total in the last two games combined.

"We needed him, and he gave us a boost," forward Chris Cooper said. "Kent gives everybody on this team a nice, calm attitude."

Bazemore also helped give ODU a three-point lead heading into the half, finding Iliadis in the corner for a buzzer-beating trey. The momentum was beginning to swing in the second half, when Nick Wright found a calm moment amid the relentless trapping of the Huskies. Left alone briefly, the 6-foot-8 junior hit a 3-pointer that gave ODU a lead it never relinquished.

Dimitri Batten followed with another 3, and then Bazemore scored on a drive and was fouled. ODU led 48-40 with 11:07 left.

Northeastern didn't get closer than five the rest of the way. ODU ripped through the Huskies press for transition layups or free throws to close the game.

"On offense, I thought we were smarter and smarter as the game went on," Taylor said.

On defense, the Monarchs were relentless in their own way, diving into the passing lanes for steals and deflections.

Taylor joked that theme of the day was to "steal one on the road." He didn't know how literally his team would take him.

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