Five halftime thoughts: Old Dominion

1.) The worst-case scenario has come true for the Flying Dutchmen—early foul trouble for Greg Washington, an almost invisible first half for Mike Moore, playing 5-on-8 with Southern Bias refs—and they’re only down 41-34 and it could be worse. The Dutchmen were outscored 8-4 with Washington on the bench after his second foul and he has to stay on the court in the second half. He was the Dutchmen’s best player with seven points and three inside baskets, including an alley-oop, in just 11 minutes.

2.) The Dutchmen have done a nice job of minimizing Old Dominion’s advantage on the boards, limiting the Monarchs to just seven offensive rebounds (as opposed to eight defensive boards for the Dutchmen) while pulling down five offensive rebounds. Freshman Stephen Nwaukoni, pressed into duty by Washington’s foul trouble, has been solid with four rebounds in 10 minutes—four minutes more than he played in the previous three games combined. David Imes has just two boards but six points on 3-of-4 shooting and seems primed for a big second half.

3.) The Dutchmen are doing a nice job of maximizing their depth. In addition to Nwaukoni, Shemiye McLendon has been outstanding, especially on defense. The Dutchmen will need these contributions to have a chance in the second half.

4.) Old Dominion is shooting an almost incomprehensible (for Old Dominion anyway) 17-of-29. The Monarchs haven’t had too many open outside looks, they’re just draining everything. Gotta think that the law of averages will turn in the Dutchmen’s favor, but of course that would be negated if Frank Hassell begins dominating down low.

5.) The Dutchmen must get something from Moore, who is just 1-of-4 from the field, but Jenkins has to get into Wolf mode. He’s got eight points on 3-of-8 shooting but the Monarchs took him out of the game for an extended period midway through the half. He’ll have to start driving and creating and drawing fouls in order to put the Dutchmen on his back, have another senior moment and get them to Monday night.

Email Jerry at defiantlydutch@yahoo.com or follow Defiantly Dutch at http://twitter.com/defiantlydutch.