NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- The Royal Rivalry hasn't been much of a rivalry as of late on the basketball court. James Madison has been dominating the series and that trend continued Thursday night.
Julian Wooden scored 23 points and JMU opened up a 23 point halftime lead, sending Old Dominion to a 78-62 loss at Chartway Arena. It marks the second time this season the Dukes have topped the Monarchs on their home floor and they've now won six straight games against ODU.
James Madison (18-2, 6-2) began to pull away early in the first half. Jaylen Carey's dunk with 9:03 remaining in the frame gave the visitors a 23-12 lead and Xavier Brown's triple the next time down extended the advantage to 14 points. The Monarchs would get no closer than 11 points the remainder of the game as the Dukes ended the half on a 12-0 run to take a comfortable 44-21 lead into the break.
"It got hard and we gave into it," ODU interim head coach Kieran Donohue said after the game. "We had to battle back. We had to battle and fight and compete. That's what we asked them to do. That's what we challenged them to do and to their credit, they responded."
The Monarchs came out looking sharper after halftime. JMU opened up the lead to 26 points with 15:21 remaining, but Old Dominion shot 52 percent in the frame, helping them trim the gap to 11 with 3:47 left to play. The Dukes, however, were able to keep the silver and blue at arm's length and seal the win.
"If you're playing hard and giving energy, then it's contagious," junior guard R.J. Blakney said of the new attitude coming out of the break. "Everybody's buying in. Nobody's worried about anything else but the next play or your brother, your teammate, just playing hard for one-another."
Vasean Allette, who came off the bench for the first time this season, led Old Dominion with 15 points. He added six rebounds and five assists. Tyrone Williams scored 14 points, while Chaunce Jenkins added 10 points. Wooden's effort led four Dukes in double-figures.
JMU shot 55 percent in the first half, dishing out 14 assists in the frame to help fuel the early surge.
Old Dominion fell to 5-15, 1-7 in Sun Belt play, and will host Georgia Southern on Saturday at 7:00 PM.
