GAME NOTES: The first-ever meeting between Old Dominion and Illinois State takes place in the semifinal round of the 2014 Paradise Jam on Sunday night.

The Monarchs are still undefeated on the season after three games, knocking off both UNC Wilmington and Richmond at home before taking out LSU in this tournament on Friday by a score of 70-61.

As for the Redbirds, who opened the 2014-15 campaign with a 60-55 setback at home versus Utah State, they got their revenge against another school from the Beehive State as they topped Weber State two days ago, 73-64.

The winner of this meeting will go up against the survivor of the Gardner- Webb/Seton Hall battle in the title game on Monday night.

In a game that featured two ties and three lead changes, ODU trailed by as many as 12 points less than seven minutes into the first half, but bounced back in order to capture the victory. The defense for the Monarchs provided a huge lift as they forced 16 turnovers and traded those in for 21 points at the other end of the floor.

Trey Freeman finished with 25 points, shooting 9-of-18 from the field, followed by Richard Ross with 10 points. Jonathan Arledge tallied just seven points, but made his presence known with a team-best 12 rebounds.

ODU managed to make good on an impressive 7-of-14 behind the 3-point line against the Tigers, but only 11-of-23 at the charity stripe.

Freeman leads the team in scoring with 20.3 ppg as he shoots 51.4 percent from the field, accounting for a team-best 11 assists along the way as well. Arledge puts up another 10.3 ppg, but it is the defense that has been working the hardest for the Monarchs with just 58.0 ppg allowed.

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell tallied 20 points and seven rebounds as he played a major role in the win for the Redbirds over Weber State a few days back. He converted not only 8-of-15 from the floor, but also 3-of-5 behind the 3-point line, while the rest of Illinois State was a combined 2-of-10 out on the perimeter. Daishon Knight added 18 points and Reggie Lynch 12 for Illinois State.

Defensively, the Redbirds not only forced 18 turnovers but also limited the Wildcats to 3-of-12 shooting beyond the arc in order to overcome a 25-10 deficit in points from the free-throw line.

Akoon-Purcell and Knight find themselves at the top of the scoring list for the Redbirds after two games with 17.5 ppg, the former also pulling down 8.5 rpg to pace the program in that department as well. The team as a whole is shooting only 39.2 percent from the floor and a dismal 7-of-30 (.233) on the perimeter, explaining why ISU is producing just 64.0 ppg in the early going.

With the Monarchs putting up a strong defense and Illinois State far from an offensive machine, expect this to be a low-scoring affair that favors ODU.