ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 23, 1997 TAG: 9702250061
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: STATE
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
Odell Hodge scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Saturday as Old Dominion beat George Mason 85-62 in Norfolk, keeping alive the Monarchs' hopes of gaining a tie for Colonial Athletic Association regular-season title.
ODU (18-10 overall, 9-6 conference) must beat James Madison on Monday to catch North Carolina-Wilmington, which lost its final game 57-53 to East Carolina on Saturday.
The Monarchs opened the game with a 23-7 run to take a 16-point lead with 11:28 left. The Patriots (9-16, 3-12) closed to 32-22 at halftime, but ODU opened the second half with a 19-7 run to knock George Mason out of the game.
Mark Poag had 15 points for the Monarchs, and Mike Byers added 12. Hodge became the first ODU player to score 2,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds in a career.
The Monarchs held George Mason to 30.1 percent (22-of-73) shooting, while the league's leading scorer, Nate Langley (22.5), managed only nine points in 31 minutes.
Avery Carey led the Patriots with 14 points.
In Saturday's other games:
Richmond 77, James Madison 71: Darryl Oliver scored 11 points, including five in a crucial 7-0 run, as Richmond won its fourth straight.
The teams traded the lead for most of the game with Richmond (12-13, 7-8 Colonial Athletic Association) taking the lead for good 62-61 with 3:36 left on two free throws by Rick Edwards. Oliver then took JMU (14-11, 8-7) out of the game with five consecutive points for a 67-61 lead with 1:21 left.
Eric Poole scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Spiders. Jarod Stevenson had 18 points.
Charles Lott led the Dukes with 17 points.
The score was tied 10 times, and the biggest lead by either team was eight points.
American 85, William and Mary 67: In Washington, Nate Smith scored 28 points, including the 1,000th point of his career, and the Eagles won their seventh straight at home.
American (11-14, 7-7 Colonial Athletic Association) moved into sole possession of seventh place in the nine-team CAA. The Eagles can avoid having to play a first-round qualifying game for the conference tournament with a victory Monday night at last-place George Mason or if eighth-place Richmond loses one of its two remaining games.
William and Mary (11-14, 8-7) had won five straight, its longest winning streak in 15 seasons. The Tribe fell into a fifth-place tie with idle Virginia Commonwealth.
Thomas Treadwell had 15 points, and David Small added 12 for American. Randy Bracy led the Tribe with 20 points.
Southwest Virginia CC 92, Virginia Western CC 90: Ben Hilton scored 26 points to lead Southwest Virginia to a come-from-behind victory at Richlands High School. Matt Woolwine (Salem) scored 23 points and made four 3-pointers for the Blue Stars.
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