Huntington, WV (SportsNetwork.com) - Jonathan Arledge had 13 points to help 25th-ranked Old Dominion extend its best-ever start as a Division I program with an easy 72-51 victory over Marshall in a Conference USA clash.
Trey Freeman and Jordan Baker chipped in 11 points each in the Monarchs' 10th straight win. Freeman added eight rebounds for ODU (13-1, 2-0 C-USA), playing for the first time in school history as a team ranked in the Associated Press Top 25.
"Coming into the game, with this being our first game as a ranked team this year, it was a little nervousness and anxiousness with that title," Arledge said. "I feel like we got it out of the way now."
Marshall (4-11, 0-2), which had dropped 11 of 12 since a 3-0 start, was paced by Austin Loop's 15 points. Ryan Taylor and Jay Johnson each finished with 13 for the Thundering Herd, but Taylor was charged with eight of Marshall's 22 turnovers.
"The turnovers killed us tonight," Johnson said. "It's our fault as the scout, not knowing that they can shoot the ball that well. Everything is mental right now. It's all in our heads right now."
The Monarchs got off to a sloppy start, as they turned the ball over nine times in the first 10-plus minutes of play and trailed 17-16 at that stage after Johnson and Loop knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers for Marshall.
Old Dominion then restored order by ripping off a 12-2 run, capped by consecutive treys from Aaron Bacote and Nik Biberaj that put the Monarchs up 28-19 with 5 1/2 minutes remaining in the first half. An Arledge triple in the final minute had ODU ahead by double digits, 35-25, at the break.
The Monarchs kept increasing the margin in the second half, with a pair of Ambrose Mosley 3-pointers highlighting a 10-1 stretch that gave ODU a comfortable 54-32 lead with just over 12 minutes to play.
It was a 60-35 spread shortly after, when Biberaj and Mosley each buried threes after Johnson hit one to temporarily stop the surge.
"I feel like we just picked up our urgency on defense and were more patient on offense," said Arledge. "The first half we had 13 turnovers. That's uncharacteristic for us. We were just rushing a lot and we weren't in the flow of what we do. In the second half we were able to calm down, get our feet under ourselves and play with some more urgency on defense."
Game Notes
ODU's win was only its second in six all-time visits to Huntington and first since the 1975-76 season, the Monarchs' last as a Division II school ... Marshall has lost seven straight to Top 25 teams at home since a 73-66 triumph over No. 23 Wake Forest on Dec. 17, 1997 ... Loop finished 5-of-9 from 3-point range ... The Thundering Herd entered the matchup near the bottom of D-I with an average of 16.1 turnovers per game.
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