Norfolk, VA (SportsNetwork. Carlos Zambrano Jersey .com) - Aaron Bacote scored a career-high 31 points on a perfect shooting effort from the floor, leading Old Dominion to a 73-67 upset of No. 14 VCU at the Constant Center. Bacote hit all eight of his field goal attempts and went 4-for-4 from 3-point range, while the Monarchs knocked down 9-of-17 attempts from beyond the arc to earn their first win over a ranked opponent since 2009. The Rams, on the other hand, struggled from the perimeter for much of the day and shot 39 percent overall in being dealt a second defeat in their last three games. Give (ODU) Coach (Jeff) Jones and his staff and his team a lot of credit, said VCU head coach Shaka Smart. They really came out with an aggressiveness about them at both ends of the floor, that really was the difference in the game. Trey Freeman added 15 points in a game the Monarchs (5-1) led virtually the entire way due to their marksmanship from the perimeter and ability to handle VCUs trademark pressure defense. I think our guys thought they could win. I dont know that they came into the game expecting to win, said Jones. We hadnt put together 40 minutes against that kind of team. Treveon Graham tallied 29 points for VCU (4-2), with Melvin Johnson recording 14 in the loss. ODU put the Rams in a sizeable hole midway through the opening half on the strength of its long-range shooting success. The Monarchs made each of their five 3-point attempts -- with Bacote draining the first two and Ambrose Mosley the last three -- during a 17-2 run that turned a tie game into a 23-8 lead. The Monarchs maintained a double-digit cushion well into the second half, building a 32-18 advantage at the break by beating VCU at its own game. Old Dominion committed just four turnovers as Freeman successfully navigated the Rams press, while the Rams had nine giveaways that led to 12 Monarchs points over the opening period. For most of the game I thought we had that nice balance, Jones said. We wanted to be aggressive, but we wanted to be smart. Down by as many as 18 early in the second half and trailing 57-40 with under 4 1/2 minutes to go, VCU finally began to close the gap. Graham ripped off eight straight points to get the margin under 10, then later drilled a trey to cap a 13-2 spurt that pulled the Rams within 59-53 with 1:34 remaining. The Monarchs were able to hold on by hitting their foul shots, however, going 12-of-14 from the charity stripe in the final minute. ODU ended the game 24-of-30 at the free throw line, with VCU converting only 13 of its 22 chances. Game Notes The Monarchs had dropped five straight against ranked teams since a 61-57 decision over then-No. 11 Georgetown on Dec. 19, 2009 ... Bacotes previous career best was 28 points, set twice last season ... VCU had won four straight meetings between the former Sun Belt and CAA rivals, with Old Dominions last victory over the Rams coming in the 2011 CAA Tournament title game ... VCU, which held a 35-32 edge on the boards, had won 22 straight in which it outrebounded its opponent. Rowan Wick Jersey . Nowitzki scored 28 points, Harris had a season-high 14 for the second straight game and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Detroit Pistons 116-106 Sunday night. Jerome Walton Jersey . That time around, the cage is as much a part of baseballs daily routine as a beer and a hotdog is to a fan in the stands. Coaches, scouts, broadcasters and other media hover, tossing verbal barbs, telling stories and sharing laughs. Occasionally, especially in spring when the atmosphere is relatively laid back, the list of invited guests expands and on this day, Gibbons welcomed two men strongly influential in his life. http://www.customcubsjersey.com/custom-kyle-schwarber-jersey-large-1960n.html . Vonn had another scary moment at Saturdays World Cup downhill in Val dIsere, ending up clutching her knee in pain after losing her balance and missing a gate. But she gave a reassuring answer shortly afterward, saying no new damage had been done to the surgically repaired knee, and that her plans for the Sochi Olympics were still intact.TORONTO -- Craig MacTavish isnt taking too kindly to comments made by Nail Yakupovs agent about his clients role with the Edmonton Oilers. A day after Igor Larionov told ESPN.com that hed be open to a trade from the Oilers, MacTavish accused the reporter who wrote the story of "manufacturing it" and defended the teams treatment of Yakupov. "Theres nothing changed from our perspective on Yak," MacTavish said after the NHL general managers meeting in Toronto. "The only thing I will say is that adversity in my mind is something that helps spur development. Yaks facing a little bit of adversity, but there arent too many players of that age that havent. Thats really all I have to say about it." Larionovs message to the Oilers, via ESPN.com, was to let the 20-year-old Yakupov play. The 2012 No. 1 overall pick was a healthy scratch for two games earlier in the season and is averaging 15:28 of ice time a game. "I asked Craig, I said, If you guys (are) not happy with him or you have no room for him ... were willing to make a move. Any team," Larionov told ESPN.com. "That happens and thats part of life. Lets move on.&quuot; Coach Dallas Eakins told the Edmonton Journal that Yakupov was not going anywhere, a sentiment MacTavish repeated Tuesday. Miguel Amaya Jersey. . Asked if Larionov might have a point about Yakupov getting a chance to play more, MacTavish voiced support for Eakins decisions. "I think Yaks been treated very fairly since hes been in our organization," he said. "We like Yak, Ive said that many times. Its a much bigger story for you people, and its becoming a bit of a distraction for us right now because were having to answer these questions. "We feel the same way about Yak as the day we drafted him. Hes a dynamic player thats going to need time to develop and get to the level that we all expect him to get to. Is it a smooth line from where he is now to what hes going to become as a player? No, theres going to be ups and downs along the way, and anybody thats been in the game for any length of time will tell you that that is the case." MacTavish said Yakupovs struggles are part of his development and that "anybody with any common sense would tell you the same thing." He then told reporters to relax and left abruptly. ' ' '