CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- C.J. Keyser scored 20 points and Austin Trice recorded 15 points and 14 rebounds on Wednesday night as Old Dominion dropped a 71-67 Conference USA men's basketball contest to Charlotte.
"We played well, except for the one stretch in the second half that they got going, but the guys were able to regroup and had a couple chances at the end," said ODU Head Coach Jeff Jones.
The 49ers jumped out to an early 7-3 lead on a Jackson Threadgill dunk at the 17:06 mark. The Monarchs responded with a 20-3 run to lead 23-10 with 7:19 remaining in the half on a jumper by Keyser.
The hosts trimmed the ODU lead to 25-21 with 4:15 on the clock after an Austin Butler layup, but again the Monarchs went on a run to push the lead back to double digits following a Kalu Ezikpe layup with 23 seconds left to lead 33-23. Jahmir Young beat the halftime horn with a 3-pointer to bring Charlotte to 33-26 at intermission.
The second half saw big swings by both teams. Old Dominion held a seven-point lead for most of the first five minutes of the half as a putback dunk by Trice kept the Monarchs ahead 42-35 at the 17:23 mark. Charlotte responded on a 12-3 burst to lead 47-45 after a Threadgill jumper with 10:42 remaining.
Ezikpe answered with a three-point play to put the Monarchs back up 22 seconds later at 48-47. Charlotte answered that with a 17-6 run for its largest lead of the night at 64-54 following an Aly Khalifa layup with 5:45 on the clock.
The Monarchs had one last blast in them as they clawed back cutting the lead to one twice, the last time on a Keyser jumper with 1:43 left to trail 68-67. Clyde Trapp hit one free throw and Musa Jallow hit a pair in the final 22 seconds for the win. A couple of ODU shots in the final 30 seconds rimmed out.
Mekhi Long had 12 points and six rebounds for ODU, while Hunter added 11 points. Young lead all scorers for Charlotte with 21 points.
These teams will meet again on Saturday night at Chartway Arena in a 7 pm tip on Coaches vs. Cancer night.
Men's Basketball Comeback Falls Short In 71-67 Loss To Charlotte
