Old Dominion men's basketball beats Western Michigan 61-49 in opener

Old Dominion men's basketball opened its season with a 61-49 win over Western Michigan on Monday night at Chartway Arena in Norfolk, improving the Monarchs to 1-0 at home.

Zacch Wiggins led the way with 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting and went 7-of-8 at the free-throw line in 37 minutes. Bubu Benjamin added 9 points, and Jared Turner scored 8 off the bench on a perfect 3-of-3 from the floor, including 2-of-2 from three, while pulling down a team-high 8 rebounds.

A tight first half, then a pull-away

The Monarchs led 30-24 at halftime and outscored the Broncos 31-25 in the second half. Old Dominion's largest lead was 15 points. The teams traded the lead six times.

Turnovers and the paint

Old Dominion forced 16 Western Michigan turnovers and turned them into 16 points, while the Broncos scored 4 points off the Monarchs' 10 turnovers. The Monarchs had 10 steals, with Benjamin and Khoi Thurmon each collecting 3. Thurmon also led the team with 5 assists.

Old Dominion scored 36 points in the paint to 16 for Western Michigan and had an 8-3 edge in fast-break points. The Monarchs shot 25-of-56 (45 percent) from the field, and they outrebounded the Broncos 37-32. Old Dominion struggled from deep, going 4-of-15 on three-pointers, and made 7 of 13 free throws.

Broncos

Western Michigan, which fell to 0-1, shot 19-of-51 (37 percent) and made 8 of 20 three-pointers. Augustinas Kiudulas led the Broncos with 12 points but committed 8 of the team's 16 turnovers. Jaylen Washington Jr. had 9 points and a team-high 5 assists, and Tanner Hayhurst grabbed 7 rebounds. Janis Jünemann scored 7 points in 7 minutes off the bench.

Attendance was 4,042.

Next up

Old Dominion plays at home again Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. ET against Regent.