ODU Men's Basketball Ends Season with 74-64 Conference USA Tournament loss to UTEP

By Harry Minium

FRISCO, Texas – A season full of some major highs and even lower lows for the Old Dominion men's basketball team abruptly ended with a loss to UTEP Wednesday night.

In a game in which the refs let both teams play, the Miners outmuscled and outshot the Monarchs to claim a 74-64 victory in the second round of the Conference USA Tournament at the Ford Center at the Star.

The final score was somewhat misleading, as the Monarchs trimmed what had been a 19-point lead to 10 when the outcome was no longer in doubt. 

UTEP (19-12) heads into the tournament quarterfinals to take on Middle Tennessee Thursday night at 9 p.m. ODU (13-19) heads home with only its second losing record since the Monarchs joined Conference USA in 2012-13.

ODU entered the tournament with some momentum after winning three of its last four regular-season games, but it did not carry over. ODU's players always seemed half a step behind the Miners.

That was especially true in the backcourt, where UTEP was dominant. Guards Souley Boum (21 points), Keonte Kennedy (17) and Jamal Bieniemy (13) combined for 51 of UTEP's points. 

"Their backcourt is the most difficult in the conference to handle," ODU coach Jeff Jones said. "We weren't able to handle them."

And as has often been the case with the Monarchs, they never found their shooting eye.

ODU missed 10 of its first 11 shots and shot only 29.1 percent in a first half that set the tone. UTEP led by 17, 34-17, before ODU ended the half with a 4-0 mini run that trimmed the lead to 13.

The Monarchs clearly had time to come back. Instead, UTEP quickly extended the lead to 18 points and won going away. With five minutes left, Kennedy swished a three-pointer and UTEP led by 19.

ODU entered the season with high hopes, as Jones added several transfers who were expected to bolster the Monarch offense. But the Monarchs were, with few exceptions, unable to consistently make outside shots.

Two ODU seniors went out in style. C.J. Keyser, a transfer from North Carolina Central, led ODU with 20 points. Austin Trice, playing his second season after transferring from Kansas State, added 12 points and eight rebounds.

Mekhi Long added nine points and 12 rebounds and Kalu Ezikpe nine points and 10 rebounds.

Jones said he spoke to his players briefly following the game, but said there wasn't much he could say to console them.

"I just wanted them to know how much I appreciated them," he said. "Obviously, it was a hard year.  A 13-19 record is not want anyone envisioned.

"But when you go through tough times with people, when you go through the ups and the downs of a season, there are bonds that are formed.

"It's not just about winning with those relationships."

Statistically, the game was a draw except for the most important stat – shooting.

UTEP made 49 percent of its shots, but more importantly, was nine for 23 from beyond the arc. Buoyed by its late run, ODU shot 40 percent, but only 13 percent (two of 15) on three-point shots.

Outside shooting was a consistent problem for the Monarchs, but so was making mental mistakes. Jones said his team needs to work on its self awareness in the offseason.

"We never figured out the things that plagued us when we played poorly,"  Jones said. "Good teams find that winning formula.

"When we took care of the basketball and executed and we got good shots, we performed well. A lot of it is not beating yourself. When you take bad shots and you don't execute and turn the ball over you beat yourself.

"There's not many teams with a big margin of error and certainly ours was razor thin. We couldn't overcome our lack of outside shooting. We couldn't overcome the shoot-yourself-in-the-foot kind of mistakes."

Jones said he's not sure how many newcomers he will recruit but said most or all will come from junior colleges or the transfer portal.

"We've been on top of that for a while," he said. "We're talking with some good players."

 Asked what message he had for ODU's fan base, Jones said this season showed more than any other how much the fans mean to the players. ODU was 10-4 at home, including seven victories in eight games since the New Year.

"Hopefully our fans understand that these guys never gave up," he said. "These guys played hard and especially played for Monarch Nation.

"If this year doesn't show how our guys appreciate and benefit from our fans, I don't know what does.

"We had our faults, clearly, but somehow when we were at home we were able to overcome those to win some big games.

"We appreciate those folks. They need to know we'll all be back to work soon."