Monarchs fall to Richmond, 90-82 in overtime

RICHMOND

Packed into the final 30 seconds of regulation was enough drama for three games.

Two unlikely 3-pointers, one banked in from the top of the key, the other swished from more than 10 feet beyond it.

An old-fashioned 3-point play, on a gutsy drive by a redshirt freshman.

When the dust settled, Old Dominion and Richmond were tied at 72 and headed to an overtime that promised more of the same.

But with their frontcourt thinned by fouls and injury, 40 minutes was about all the Monarchs could muster Tuesday night. Forced to play small ball in overtime, ODU fell 90-82 at the Robins Center.

It was a game in which ODU's offense went to places it's rarely been this season. Aided by a pressing defense, the Monarchs produced 22 points off turnovers, and frequently forced Richmond out of its Princeton-style comfort zone.

The flip side of all that aggressiveness was that the Spiders (7-5) shot 39 free throws. A half dozen or more came after the Monarchs (5-6) bit on Richmond pump-fakes. Once airborne, ODU defenders were easy marks for Spider shooters, who leaned in and drew contact.

ODU coach Blaine Taylor took issue with several of the calls.

"If a guy goes airborne and you just jump into him, it doesn't mean the whistle has to blow," Taylor said. "I thought the officials were taken advantage of."

Perhaps, but so was the ODU defense at times. For all the good it did in jump-starting what's been a moribund Monarch offense, ODU's D also lost track of Richmond shooters, particularly guard Darien Brothers.

A 6-foot-3 junior, Brothers pumped in 38 points, including 11 in overtime. He made 6 of 10 3-point tries.

His most damaging trey came with 14.5 seconds left in regulation, when he banked one in from the top of the key. ODU freshman Dimitri Batten had just scored on a 3-point play, banking in a runner and drawing a foul to put the Monarchs up 69-68.

Brothers' 3-pointer made it 71-69. After two ODU misses, a Derrick Williams free throw put Richmond up three.

Kent Bazemore took the inbounds pass, steamed up court and elevated from about 33 feet out. His shot tied the game with 1.5 seconds left.

Brothers began overtime by converting a 4-point play. ODU went into the extra session without 6-foot-9 Chris Cooper, who had fouled out with 19 points. Forward Richard Ross fouled out with 3:32 left. With forward Nick Wright on the bench with an apparent concussion, ODU went with a small lineup.

The Monarchs kept scrambling. A Donte Hill layup pulled ODU within two, at 77-75, with 3:06 left. Brothers quickly pushed the lead to six, though, and the Monarchs didn't get closer.

Brothers wasn't the only Spider to enjoy a good shooting night. Richmond shot 59 percent. On defense, center Darrius Garrett was a one-man insurance policy, with eight blocks.

Still, there were encouraging signs for ODU. Though it lost the game, it may have found a blueprint for how to best deploy this bunch of players, a group that has been together for just two games.

With Hill and Ross in the mix, the Monarchs' strengths are their depth, versatility and quickness. While recent ODU teams have overcome shooting deficiencies through relentless offensive rebounding, this one could potentially use pressure defense to goose its offense.

Time will tell. But as Taylor said:

"We got to do a lot of things with a lot of different guys. There are some things we'll be able to take from this game."

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