In Need of a Victory, the ODU Men's Basketball Team Rolled Past Georgia State, 70-58

By Harry Minium
 
NORFOLK, Va. – An Old Dominion men's basketball team badly in need of a victory got one Thursday night in impressive fashion.

The Monarchs took an early 17-point lead, and never allowed Georgia State closer than eight the rest of the way, en route to a 70-58 victory over the Panthers before 5,433 at Chartway Arena.
 
ODU (11-8 overall, 3-4 Sun Belt) had lost three of its last four games, including a 67-66 home defeat to Coastal Carolina a week ago in which the Monarchs led by 12 points with nine minutes to go.
 
Georgia State (9-10, 2-5), which has won three of the last four Sun Belt Conference titles, eviscerated Coastal Carolina, 100-66, on Saturday.
 
ODU's top two scorers, Chaunce Jenkins and Tyreek Scott-Grayson, were dominant, although each in different halves.
 
Jenkins, the sophomore from Newport News, made all seven field goal attempts and scored 19 points in the first half. He finished with 21 points 
 
Scott-Grayson, the senior transfer from Northeastern, had 17 points in the second half and finished with 24, nine rebounds and five assists.
 
"We played well in a lot of areas tonight," head coach Jeff Jones said.
 
"The ball really moved well tonight and that allowed them (Jenkins and Scott-Grayson) to get some driving lanes. We hit enough shots from the other guys to keep Georgia State's defense honest.
 
"And I thought our defense was daggone good."
 
It was perhaps ODU's most complete game of the season – the Monarchs shot 59 percent (27 of 46), outscored Georgia State 40-20 in the paint, made 13 of 16 foul shots (81 percent) and had 12 steals.
 
"We came out firing and we didn't let up," Scott-Grayson said. "Usually, we let up and let the lead slip away.
 
"We should have closed out the first half better. But we responded in the second half. And I think that was crucial for us. We haven't done that so far this season, so that was a good step forward."
 
ODU was without starter Ben Stanley, who was out with an injury, and has been without point guard Imo Essien for two weeks. 
 
Bryce Baker (eight points), Jason Wade (five points, two steals) and D'Angelo Stines (four points, three steals) all came off the bench and played more minutes than usual.
 
"They really stepped up for us," Scott-Grayson said.
 
ODU took a 17-point lead, 30-13, on two Jenkins foul shots with 2:25 left in the first half. With his starters tired, Jones sent his team into a zone, and while it worked well early-on, "we had some defensive breakdowns," Jones said.
 
The Panthers made four three-point shots in the final 2:13, including two by Colin Moore, the last with a second to play that reduced the lead to eight, 33-25.
 
ODU quickly reasserted control in the second half. 
 
Jenkins fed Jason Wade who made a three-pointer 4 ½ minutes into the second half that built the lead to 15, 44-29.
 
Two minutes later, Scott-Grayson made a driving layup to push the lead back to 17, 50-33.
 
ODU led by as many as 19 points before Georgia State mounted a too-little, too-late rally in the game's final minutes. The Panthers sliced the lead to 12, but Baker made a three-pointer with 4:06 left that built the lead back to 15.
 
"That three-point shot by Bryce basically shut the door on them," Jones said.
 
ODU hosts Appalachian State Saturday night at 7 in the final game before the Monarchs hit a brutal stretch run.
 
Following Saturday's game, six of their next eight games are on the road, and then they finish the season with home games against Southern Miss and Marshall, two of the league's best teams. 
 
But the Monarchs enter the App State game with momentum.
 
"Being able to win, and in the way we did, I think everybody comes out feeling good, feeling positive and that will help the mood and preparation tomorrow," Jones said. 
 
"I think Saturday's game is huge. I mean, it's a jumble in the standings and if somehow, someway, we can find a way to win, and get to four and four, that would be terrific after the week we had last week."