NORFOLK, Va. ? A hard fought second half wasn’t enough to boost The Citadel Bulldogs past Old Dominion as the Monarchs came away with a 67-59 victory in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Va.

Demetrius Nelson paced The Citadel offense, scoring 25 points in his final game as a Citadel Bulldog. John Brown dominated the boards with 10 rebounds. Cameron Wells added 13 points, followed by Zach Urbanus with 10.

Nelson was second on the team in rebounds with seven, while Urbanus contributed four assists. The Bulldogs struggled from the 3-point line, shooting only 15.8 percent, converting on 3-of-19. From the field, The Citadel shot 43.9 percent and only shot nine free throws, connecting on six.

Defensively, the Bulldogs forced only nine turnovers. The Monarchs defeated the Bulldogs on the boards, outrebounding them, 37-33, and forced 14 Bulldog turnovers. Old Dominion’s bench outscored The Citadel’s bench, 26-2.

Old Dominion was led by Keyon Carter with 17 points and nine rebounds. Carter was assisted on offense by Darius James with 13 points. The Bulldogs held the Monarchs’ leading scorer Gerald Lee to only seven points. Frank Hassell contributed on the boards with seven rebounds.

The Monarchs shot 45.6 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from behind the arc with Ben Finney connecting on 2-of-5 from long range. Old Dominion was able to get to the free throw line, where they shot 55 percent. They tied the Bulldogs in assists with 13. Defensively, the Monarchs recorded five steals and three blocks. Three of those steals came from James.

The Citadel concludes the season with a 20-13 record after recording the most successful season in Bulldog Basketball history. Old Dominion improves to 22-10 on the season and advances to the quarterfinals of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, where they will host Belmont on Monday, March 23.