COLCHESTER, Vt. – The College of Saint Rose broke open a four-point game at halftime and freshman forward
Shane O'Dell recorded a monster "double-double" to help the Golden Knights shake off a 26-day layoff in tonight's 86-75 Northeast-10 Conference victory at Saint Michael's.
O'Dell pulled off the feat by scoring all of his 36 points inside the arc. He finished 15-for-25 from the floor, went 6-for-7 from the free throw line, hauled in five of his 14 boards from the offensive glass, and handed out a team-high four assists. He thus figured in 19 of the team's 31 made field goals.
It was far from a one-person show though. Freshman forward
Jermaine Taggart contributed with 15 points, on 5-for-5 shooting, in 26 minutes of reserve action, and freshman guard
Tray Alexander went 3-for-6 from long range to wind up with 13 points. Alexander also handed out three assists and came up with a like number of steals.
"It was such a great feeling to be back out on the court playing games again and I thought our guys were well prepared and had tremendous energy for 40 minutes tonight. Shane was tremendous and J.T. (
Jermaine Taggart) gave us a tremendous lift off the bench. We look forward to getting back in the gym and continuing to grow as a basketball team the next few days as we get ready to take on a very good Bentley team next Wednesday," said head coach
Mike Perno.
Saint Rose led throughout the final 23 minutes although the first half featured 12 lead changes and a pair of ties. The Golden Knights took a 43-39 cushion into the locker room at halftime, before breaking the game open at the outset of the second period.
Saint Rose outscored the Purple Knights (4-9/0-6 NE10) 18-8 throughout the opening five minutes to build a comfortable 14 point, 61-47 lead after fifth-year guard
Adam Anderson canned a pair of free throws to cap the surge. Saint Michael's got no closer than nine points on five occasions the rest of the way.
Senior forward Patrick Gardner tossed in 13 points and came up with 11 rebounds to pace the Purple Knights.
Up next, both squads have league dates scheduled for next Wednesday. The Golden Knights are set to host NE10 rival Bentley in the second half of a doubleheader. Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm, following the women's 5:30 pm start. Meanwhile, Saint Michael's has a 5:30 pm meeting at league rival Le Moyne in Syracuse.
Notes: O'Dell's 36 points are the most by a Saint Rose player since Tyler Sayre tossed in 38 verus Le Moyne in 2013…O'Dell's feat marked only the 16th time in the program's NCAA era (1991-92) that a player scored 36 points in a game…Saint Rose has now reached the 80 point mark in six of its 11 games to date…O'Dell is second among the NE10 leaders with a 20.5 scoring average…He stands ninth behind 7.5 rebounds per game…Alexander leads the league with 6.3 assists and 2.5 steals per game.
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