NORFOLK, Va. (AP)—Drew Williamson scored 17 points—including 15 as Old Dominion pulled away in the second half—to lead the Monarchs to a 70-57 victory Saturday over James Madison.
Valdas Vasylius had a career-high 13 rebounds and scored 10 points in coach Blaine Taylor’s 100th victory at Old Dominion (6-2, 1-0 Colonial Athletic Association).
The teams played even through most of the first half, with James Madison (2-4, 0-1) taking a brief lead, 21-20, with 4:46 left. But Vasylius came back with a layup and then hit a jumper, and minutes later Abdi Lidonde made back-to-back 3-pointers, and the Monarchs went into the locker room with a 32-25 lead.
The teams combined for 23 turnovers in the first half.
In the second half, 3-pointers by Williamson and Brian Henderson and a layup by Brandon Johnson gave Old Dominion its largest lead and made the score 63-47 with 5:44 to play. The Monarchs kept at least a 10-point lead for the rest of the game.
Juwann James, the conference’s rookie of the year last year, scored 14 points for the Dukes and Joe Posey had 11. But James Madison shot 39.7 percent from the field and made only 20 percent of their 3-point attempts.
