Jordan Williams appeared in his 100th game on Saturday night at Old Dominion.

Box Score: NT 50 ODU 61

Season Statistics

NORFOLK, Virginia - This wasn't quite how Jordan Williams envisioned his 100th appearance in a Mean Green uniform.

The senior had North Texas rolling early and tied at 16 with Old Dominion before coming down awkwardly on a 3-point attempt. Williams was off the court just 1:48, but the Monarchs took advantage with an 11-0 run that gave them all the breathing room they needed in a 61-50 win over the Mean Green at a sold out Ted Constant Center.

Williams turned in a gutty performance that included a team and season high 23 points, but Saturday's tilt showcased the top two defensive squads in C-USA. ODU boasts the league's best field goal percentage defense and NT ranks second, and on Saturday both squads struggled to score the ball. Both teams shot 35 percent from the floor, but 10-of-24 shooting from 3-point and 19 offensive boards proved the difference for the Monarchs.

"Old Dominion is one of the best teams in our league, and they certainly showed us why tonight," said North Texas head coach Tony Benford. "I felt like our first-shot defense was up to the task and We held them to 35 percent shooting, but they still found a way to win and I give them a lot of credit for that."

The Monarchs used their size in the paint to out-rebound NT 47-31, including a 19-9 edge on the offensive glass. ODU turned those 19 offensive boards into 11 points.

Quick Hits

• Jordan Williams recorded his fourth 20-point game of the year, and crossed the career 1,300 point mark in the process. Williams is now tied for 11th in NT history with 1,306 career points.

• Saturday marked just the second meeting between North Texas and Old Dominion on the hardwood. In the only other meeting the Monarchs won a 72-62 decision at the Super Pit on Feb. 13, 2014.

• Colin Voss' team-high string of games started came to an end at 32. The senior came off the bench and scored four.

• Muhammed Ahmed made his first career start against the Monarchs and tallied five points.

&bull The crowd of 8,472 was the second biggest in the history of the Ted Constant Center. In fact, its was just two people under the all-time record.

Up Next

North Texas returns to the Super Pit for a three-game home stand starting Thursday against Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m.