TOWSON, Md. - Clutch shooting by senior guard Darius James in the final minutes enabled defending Colonial Athletic Association champion Old Dominion University (10-3, 1-1) to escape from the Towson Center with a 51-47 CAA victory over the Tigers on Monday night.

James, who scored only seven points in the game, nailed a clutch three-point basket with 3:20 remaining in regulation and converted two free throws with 10 seconds left helped the Monarchs post their fifth victory in the last six games. The Monarchs beat Towson for the 15th time in a row.

The Monarchs, who overcame a rough shooting night, dominated the backboards against Towson. Led by 6-5 senior Ben Finney, ODU owned a 41-23 rebounding advantage over Towson. The Monarchs scored 15 second chance points and had 17 offensive rebounds. Finney led ODU with a game high ten rebounds while 6-9 senior Frank Hassell scored a team high 14 points with nine rebounds.

"Far and away, that's the best we've played against Old Dominion since I've been at Towson," said Tiger Coach Pat Kennedy. "Our comeback didn't surprise me in the first half. We didn't panic. We gave them a lot of second chance points.

"ODU is the best offensive rebounding team that I've seen in many years," he added. "They rebound from behind people as well as anybody. They have a number of guys with extraordinary long arms. They rebound from behind you and get those putbacks."

After leading for the entire first half, ODU had to rally from a four-point deficit in the opening minutes of the second half.

The Monarchs, who opened the contest by scoring 12 of the game's first 14 points, went scoreless over the final 3:45 of the first half. The Tigers, who trailed by 28-18 with 3:45 left before intermission, scored the final ten points of the half, to tie the game at 28-28. It was the first time that the game was tied.

Freshman guard Dre Conner hit a dramatic 60-foot shot at the buzzer, tying the game at 28-28 and sending the Tigers into the break with plenty of momentum.

"We showed great character by getting the score to 28-28 at halftime," added Kennedy. "We came out in the second half and took control. This game came down to two or three plays."

With 17:45 left in the game, sophomore Isaiah Philmore gave Towson its first lead of the game when he nailed a short jumper. A driving layup by senior guard Josh Brown one minute later upped the Tigers' lead to 32-28 and capped off a 14-0 run that stretched back to the first half.

The Tigers maintained their lead until Hassell nailed a pair of free throws with 13:45 remaining to tie the game at 34-34.

Over the next six minutes, the teams traded leads before ODU grabbed a 42-40 lead with 6:15 left on a layup by Hassell.

James' three-pointer with 3:20 remaining gave ODU its largest lead of the second half at 49-43.

Junior forward Braxton Dupree pulled the Tigers to within 49-45 when he made two free throws with 2:58 left.

Philmore cut the Tigers' deficit to 49-47 with 12 seconds remaining when he nailed two free throws. However, James was fouled with ten seconds left. He upped ODU's lead to 51-47 when he made both foul shots. Conner missed a three-point attempt with six seconds left as the Tigers fell short.

The Monarchs, who were held to 37.7% shooting in the game, scored only 23 points in the second half and made just 8 of 24 field goal attempts. Hassell, who shot 5-for-10 from the floor, was the only Monarch to score in double figures as he tallied 14 points. Finney added eight points while James and Marquel DeLancey each scored seven points.

Old Dominion, which won the Paradise Jam Tournament in the Virgin Islands with wins over Clemson and Xavier in November, has now beaten Towson in 24 of 25 all-time meetings.

Philmore, who shot 6-for-11 from the floor, led the Tigers with a game high 16 points. Dupree added 10 points and eight rebounds for Towson.

Brown, who was named as CAA Co-Player of the Week on Monday, added nine points with four assists.

The Tigers return to action on Wednesday night with another CAA game at James Madison.