NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion capitalized at the foul line and took a 78-72 victory against Ohio as part of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge on Saturday evening at Chartway Arena.

The Monarchs went 16 of 18 on free throws, consistently drawing fouls and cashing in down the stretch to hold their lead.

Ajay Sheldon scored a season-high 19 points on 5-of-9 3-point shooting, while Javan Simmons had 14 points. Aidan Hadaway scored 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds but fouled out with nearly five minutes remaining.

Ketron Shaw paced ODU with 17 points, Caelum Swanton-Rodger had 14 points, and Jordan Battle and LJ Thomas scored 13 points each. Thomas went 7 of 7 at the foul line over the last 5:29.

The Monarchs led the entire second half except for a brief stretch midway through, but the Bobcats repeatedly made pushes.

Sheldon drained a 3 that made it 71-69 with 3:32 left, and Jesse Burris had a shot to put Ohio on top, but he was off the mark. Thomas scored a layup on the other end to double the margin.

A pair of Simmons free throws cut it to 73-71 with 1:43 to go. Thomas answered with two foul shots. Burris split two foul shots, and Thomas again drew a foul, this time late in the shot clock, and sank two free throws, putting the score at 77-72 with 42 seconds to go.

A couple of misses from long range by Sheldon and Jackson Paveletzke allowed the Monarchs to close it out.

Ohio ran out to a great start, going up 19-6 on a Jalen Breath layup, but a short time later, ODU had a 15-2 run to take a 24-23 lead with 6:50 left in the half. The Monarchs increased their lead to as much as seven before settling for a 40-35 halftime advantage.

Hadaway scored a tying layup early in the second half and then Sheldon tied it again with a 3-pointer at the 12:36 mark. He drained another a minute later to put Ohio on top 55-54.

Simmons added a point to the lead with a free throw, but ODU responded with seven straight points and led the rest of the way.

Paveletzke was limited to seven points on 2-of-8 shooting but passed out 11 assists. Breath scored 11 points in just 13 minutes off the bench.

Ohio was short-handed down the stretch. In addition to Hadaway fouling out, Kelly left the game with an injury with less than four minutes left and did not return.

The Bobcats have a midweek bye before facing unbeaten Miami at 9 p.m. Friday at Millett Hall on ESPN.