Essien's Buzzer-Beater Lifts Monarchs Over Texas State 70-68

SAN MARCOS, Texas - Texas native Imo Essien dropped in a floater as the final horn sounded, enabling Old Dominion to take a 70-68 win over Texas State in a Sun Belt Conference men's basketball battle on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Monarchs were up 68-60 with 2:44 remaining after a Tyreek Scott-Grayson jumper, but Texas State (12-15, 5-9) had a final run in them. Nate Martin went 1-of-2 at the line with 1:34 left and Tyrel Morgan followed with another 1-of-2 effort at the charity stripe just three seconds later as the Bobcats trailed 68-62.  
 
Jordan Mason drained a 3-pointer for the hosts to cut the lead to 68-65 with 74 seconds on the clock. Mason Harrell then grabbed a missed ODU (16-10, 8-6) shot and took it coast to coast for a layup to pull Texas State to 68-67 with 32 seconds on the clock.
 
A turnover gave the Bobcats a chance, but with 4.8 seconds left Mason shot 1-of-2 at the line to even the score at 68-all.
 
Essien got the inbounds pass, drove the length of the floor and threw up a floater inside the lane. The ball bounced around the rim a couple times before dropping in as the horn went off for the ODU win.
 
"I am blessed to be able to play and be back home with family and friends to see me that was great.  You're playing this game for so long, at the highest level, and you have to trust yourself. They always tell us 'Boys win at home and men win on the road', and we got it done" said Essien. "When the moment calls your name, you got to answer and fortunately we did."
 
After a first half that saw ODU hit 53.6% from the floor (15-of-28) and take a 37-32 lead into the locker room, the Bobcats started the half on a 15-4 run that gave them their largest lead of the night at 47-41 on a Martin dunk with 13:48 on the clock. ODU didn't fold and hit the hosts with a 10-2 run to lead 51-49 after a Ben Stanley three-point play with 9:55 left. 
 
A triple by Morgan put the hosts up 56-54 at the 8:37 mark, but ODU responded with a 10-0 run as Scott-Grayson's free throws with 4:32 left put them up 64-56.
 
Jenkins scored 19 points to lead all scorers, while Scott-Grayson added 18 and Stanley had 12 for the Monarchs who now start another weekend trip on Thursday night at James Madison in a 7 p.m. tip.
 
"We knew it was going to be a street fight, as they're one of if not the most aggressive and physical teams we play and we had to match that physicality, which we did," said ODU Head Coach Jeff Jones. "We had to use every second and every possession, and with everything going against us that was a heck of a win." 
 
NOTES
First time since 2018-19 that ODU has won a pair of weekend conference road trips
ODU is now 6-2 on the year in games decided by three points or less, the 2018-19 team went 7-3 in games by that margin
In the last six games for ODU they've all been with margins of six points or less with ODU being 5-1 in those.
11 ties and eight lead changes in the contest.
First-ever meeting between the Monarchs and Bobcats.