ODU Men Pull Away From Randolph-Macon to Claim 71-55 Victory in Paul Webb Challenge
Former ODU and Randolph-Macon coach Paul Webb was honored at halftime.
By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – Randolph-Macon impressed with its hustle, poise and long-range shooting, and for a brief time the outcome was in doubt in a game dubbed the Paul Webb Challenge.
But as you would expect in a matchup of Division I and Division III schools, Old Dominion finally pulled away from the Yellow Jackets to claim a 71-55 men's basketball victory Tuesday night at Chartway Arena.
It was the second victory in a row for ODU (2-3) under first-year coach Mike Jones.
ODU and RMC (1-3) had not played since 1987, when the Yellow Jackets were in Division II and still offered scholarships. RMC moved to the non-scholarship Division III level in 1989.
This game was scheduled to honor the late Paul Webb, the man who coached both the Monarchs and Yellow Jackets and moved ODU to Division I in 1976-77.
Sean Durugordon, the 6-foot-6 Harlem native and a transfer from Siena, led ODU with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and sparked a 7-0 run in the second half put some distance between ODU and the Yellow Jackets.
Durugordon played at Missouri and Austin Peay before moving to Siena, where he averaged 18 points per game last season. Jones said Durugordon “has worked so hard” to improve his game since coming to ODU.
“Sean’s been an elite scorer at multiple places,” Jones said. “I think one of the things that I’m so proud of is that he said to me this is the first time he’s played on a team with other guys who can really score, so he doesn’t feel the burden.
“I mean, he had 17 points tonight, right? On nine shots?
“Talk about being efficient. He’s growing into and still learning how to play with other really good players.”
ODU led by 16 points in the first half, but saw the lead shrink to seven at the half on a Jabril Robinson three-pointer.
RMC twice trimmed the lead to five in the second half, the last time with 9:46 left on a Robinson free throw.
But Durugordon then put the Yellow Jackets away with a seven-point scoring spree, making a three-pointer, a layup and two free throws to build the lead back to 12 with 8:36 left.
ODU broke out to an 11-0 lead – its second strong start in two games – but allowed Randolph-Macon to get back into the game with some sloppy ballhandling. The Monarchs had 12 first-half turnovers.
Randolph-Macon shot poorly, in part because of ODU's good defense and in part because of the Monarchs' superior size, but made 8-of-25 three-point shots to keep it relatively close.
Freshman point guard Jaden Johnson, who had 13 points in nearly 37 minutes, said the 14 newcomers and five returning players are slowly melding as a team.
“Back to back wins, that’s always a good thing,” he said. “And I feel like those wins are leading to good energy in the locker room, and that’s starting to show up on the court.
Jones said the Monarchs made a lot of mistakes against Randolph-Macon, but agreed with Johnson.
“I believe that our team has taken steps forward every time on the floor” he said, with the exception of a blowout loss at Arizona.
“But we’re moving in the right direction and we’re moving in the right direction while winning. As long as we keep building to the Sun Belt season, we’ll be all right.”
Webb, who passed away last December, won 511 games in 29 seasons at the two schools.
He took RMC to seven NCAA Tournaments and won four conference titles. He then took ODU to four NCAA Tournaments and five National Invitation Tournaments and retired as the winningest coach in Virginia.
Halftime was set aside to honor Webb and it began with a video and a tribute to Webb read by public address announcer Jack Ankerson.
Flanked by 40 or so Webb family members and former players from both ODU and RMC, the family received a state flag flown over the state capitol the day Webb died from W. Sheppard Miller III, Virginia’s secretary of transportation on behalf of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Miller noted that Gov. Youngkin went to Paul Webb’s summer camps as a youngster and that Webb had an influence on his life as he had so many others.
Webb was 94 when he passed and many of his former players have also passed on or were unable to travel.
But Wilson Washington, the former center who starred for Webb in ODU's first season in Division I, led a delegation of nearly a dozen former Monarchs, some who played for Webb and others who played against him when he was at RMC.
Ronnie Wade, Joey Caruthers, Curtis Cole, Hank Barney, Jeff Fuhrmann, Jay Atchison and Tommy Conrad were there, as was former manager Tony Flores and long-time sports information director Carol Hudson.
The Monarchs wore the light blue that ODU teams wore when Webb coached, a color now named Hudson Blue in honor of Carol Hudson.
“I want to let everybody know how honored we were to participate in the Paul Webb Challenge,” Jones said. “I know how much coach Webb meant to the history and the legacy of our program here and how much he means to the program at Randolph-Macon.
“So, to have his name on this game tonight, for us to play a very good game against a very good opponent, we’re honored to have done that, to have honored his memory.
“I and hope all of his former players that were in attendance tonight feel like this was something that truly honored their former coach.”
ODU's next game comes Sunday against Boston College of the ACC in the Cayman Islands Classic. The Monarchs aren't at home against until Dec. 2, when they host William & Mary.