ODU falls to No. 8 Missouri 75-68 in hard-fought loss

NORFOLK

Old Dominion avoided the pitfalls that have undone so many teams that have been steamrolled by Missouri this season.

The Monarchs took decent care of the ball, keeping their turnovers to a manageable number. They didn't let the game degenerate into a track meet - Missouri's preferred pace.

They answered every Tigers run except the last one, and walked off the court wondering what might have been, after falling to No. 8 Missouri 75-68 at an amped-up Constant Center on Friday night.

"We gave them a tussle," coach Blaine Taylor said. "We really felt like we could have done a little more."

ODU (6-7) gave itself a chance - about as much as anyone could reasonably ask against an unbeaten team burying opponents by an average of 26 points, the best margin in the nation.

The score was tied at 67 before Marcus Denmon made a 3-pointer from the corner with 1:02 left.

"I just took a shot I shoot a thousand times a week," said Denmon, a senior guard who finished with 19 points.

Denmon had spotted an opening in the ODU zone on the previous trip down court, and he ran to that spot. It was a veteran play from one of the nation's top guards, and it typified the way Missouri (13-0) played. The Tigers got buckets when they really needed them, responding to every ODU surge with senior-led cool and efficiency.

ODU, meanwhile, was unable to sustain a run long enough to separate itself.

"We've got to put the dagger in them," guard Kent Bazemore said.

The Monarchs couldn't, but not for lack of effort. They took a team that specializes in making opponents uncomfortable out of its own comfort zone, sending Missouri into halftime trailing for the first time this year.

The Tigers' 33 points also were a halftime low. They had just a couple pedal-to-the-floor sequences and made just one 3-pointer.

"We played pretty good defense," Taylor said. "We didn't give them a lot of 3-point looks."

Missouri remedied that early in the second half, sinking five 3-pointers in the first four minutes to open a nine-point lead. It was vintage Tigers basketball - fast and efficient.

ODU came back with a 9-2 run to trim the lead to two. Missouri pushed it to five, and the Monarchs responded again, tying the score at 58 after Trian Iliadis hit a 3-pointer, then stole a pass and scored on a breakaway layup.

The game was still anyone's when Denmon hit his corner 3, his fourth of the evening. He shot just 5 of 13, but each basket was timely.

"There's no question we made big plays," Missouri coach Frank Haith said. "We got good leadership. Our seniors made plays down the stretch."

Seniors Kim English and Ricardo Ratliffe added 16 and 14 points, respectively. English hit 3 of 4 3-pointers. Ratliffe, a Kecoughtan High graduate who leads the country in field goal percentage, hit 6 of 8 shots.

ODU grabbed 41 rebounds to 31 for Missouri, an indication of how tenaciously the Monarchs were in their last nonconference game leading into Colonial Athletic Association play. The Monarchs had 15 turnovers to the Tigers' 12.

Victory was still within reach when Denmon hit his late 3, but Chris Cooper traveled after getting the ball near the basket. Two Denmon free throws then made it 72-67, and Bazemore missed a 3-pointer from the corner with 32 seconds left. Missouri grabbed the rebound, and ODU was forced to foul Michael Dixon. He hit one of two to put the Tigers up six with 19 seconds left.

"We'll take positives from this game and we'll move ahead," Bazemore said.

The Monarchs play at James Madison on Monday.

Ed Miller, 757-546-2372, ed.miller@pilotonline.com