RUSTON, La. -(ODU Sports) A 13-2 start to the second half proved to be too much to overcome as Louisiana Tech defeated Old Dominion 67-54 in a Conference USA matchup on Wednesday night in the Thomas Assembly Center.
After giving up an early 3-pointer to Exavion Christian, the Monarchs scored seven straight points to lead 7-3 on an Austin Trice jumper from a C.J. Keyser feed with 17:37 left.
Keaston Willis hit a putback for Louisiana Tech to tie the game at 10-10 with 13:46 left before the Monarchs erupted on an 11-0 run. Mekhi Long had a layup to give ODU a 21-10 to lead with 6:20 left.
Trice had a layup to lead 23-12 at the 6:06 mark, which then turned into a drought for the Monarchs as Louisiana Tech scored 10 straight points to trim the lead to 23-22 with 1:43 left.
In the second half, Louisiana Tech opened with a 13-2 run hitting at one time seven-of-eight from three-point range. Caleb Williams hit four straight three-pointers in the second half and scored 14 of his 19 points in the final 20 minutes.
Trice had his 12th double-double of the season with 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Keyser added 11 points and three assists, while Hunter chipped in with 10.
“They came out with the very hot hand in the second half and we didn’t respond very well,” said ODU Head Coach Jeff Jones. “When they start hitting like that the bottom can fall out, and they started hot in the second half.”
ODU closes out the regular season at home with Senior Day facing Middle Tennessee at 2 p.m. on Saturday inside Chartway Arena.
