Recap: Old Dominion vs. Towson

Norfolk, VA (Sports Network) - Jerrelle Benimon tallied 21 points and 17 rebounds as the Towson Tigers held off the Old Dominion Monarchs, 68-66, in a Colonial Athletic Association bout at Constant Convocation Center.

It was Benimon's 15th double-double of the season for Towson (11-12, 6-4 CAA), and he also blocked five shots. Marcus Damas scored 15 points, Rafriel Guthrie netted 14 points, and Mike Burwell chipped in 10 points for the Tigers, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

For ODU (2-18, 0-8), DeShawn Paint logged 20 points and nine rebounds, while Richard Ross had 13 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks. Dimitri Batten poured in 15 points off the bench for the Monarchs, who have lost eight in a row.

Towson opened up a comfortable 40-26 lead at intermission behind 43.8 percent field goal shooting in the opening 20 minutes, including 6-of-10 from 3-point range. ODU shot only 12-of-33 (.364) in the first half.

The Monarchs came out of the break red-hot, ripping off a 17-2 run to take a 43-42 lead with 11:28 left on an Aaron Bacote layup. After a few minutes on the seesaw, the Tigers took the lead for good on a Benimon bucket with 5:29 to play. ODU would keep the game close down the stretch, but Towson put it out of reach down by shooting 4-of-6 from the foul line in the final 1:10.

Towson dominated the battle on the boards, 49-34, which helped overcome a game-high 16 turnovers.