Old Dominion beats Charlotte 61-57

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) Aaron Bacote had 14 points on Saturday night and Old Dominion won its 17th straight home game, beating Charlotte 61-57.

Old Dominion (18-4, 7-3 Conference USA) took the lead for good with an 8-0 run capped at 52-44 on Jonathan Arledge's dunk with 4:37 left.

Charlotte (10-13, 3-7) closed within 53-49 at 3:20, but the Monarchs answered with four straight points and made four free throws in the final 22 seconds.

ODU closed the first half with 12 straight points to go into the break tied 30-all and never trailed in the second half though the 49ers tied it at 32, 38 and 44.

Trey Freeman added 12 points, and Arledge and Richard Ross scored 10 apiece.

Torin Dorn and Pierria Henry had 10 points each for Charlotte, which outrebounded Old Dominion 40-28 but had 18 turnovers compared to just six for the Monarchs.