ODU Men's Basketball Opens the Season With a 71-57 Victory Over Virginia Wesleyan

By Harry Minium
 
NORFOLK, Va. – It was far from a perfect performance, said head coach Jeff Jones, but the Old Dominion men's basketball team won its season opener and at times showed glimpses of the kind of play that meets the high expectations he has for this team.
 
Chaunce Jenkins led ODU with 16 points and Oregon transfer Tyrone Williams added 15, as the Monarchs defeated Virginia Wesleyan, 71-57, before a Chartway Arena crowd of 5,371. 
 
Taller, stronger and faster than Wesleyan, whose Virginia Beach campus is a 15-minute drive from ODU, the Monarchs outrebounded the Division III Marlins, 49-33, and outscored them in the paint, 38-18.
 
"I guess in a lot of ways, tonight is what you would expect of a season opener," Jones said. "There were stretches where I thought we played really, really well and then there was some where I thought we were just kind of sloppy."
 
The Monarchs were definitely sloppy during a stretch in the first half when his players were trying to scoop up loose balls rather than, as Jones put it, hit the floor to retrieve the ball. 
 
"Instead of diving on the loose ball, we were trying to pick it up so we could run," he said. "They (Wesleyan players) were on the floor, got the ball and kicked it out and knocked down three-point shots."
 
He called a timeout with 11:46 left in the first half and urged his players forcefully to start diving for loose balls. 
 
"It's kind of akin to football," he said. "On a football fumble, the big guys want to scoop it up and score when the best play is to just get the ball.
 
"We've got to learn to do that. Because what happens if you don't is that you've played your butts off defensively, but if you don't get the loose ball, you've giving up a wide open three.
 
"We gave up five threes in the first half. That's 15 points."
 
ODU led by as much as 10 points in the early going, only to see the Marlins trim the lead to four, 23-19, with 7:26 left on an Elijah Gardner three-pointer.
 
Bryce Baker, the sophomore from Mooresville, North Carolina, made a three-point play to push the lead to seven – Baker finished with 12 points.
 
Then, with 3:01 left, R.J. Blakney, a 6-foot-6 transfer from Dayton, made a three-pointer to push the lead to nine. 
 
Dani Pounds, a 6-6 freshman from Atlanta, had a pair of free throws; Vasean Allette, the standout freshman from Toronto, a steal and a layup and junior point guard Imo Essien hit two free throws in the final 1:56 to push the lead to 40-26 at halftime. 
 
Leeroy Odiahi, the 6-11 Ireland native and junior college transfer, dunked ODU to a 24-point lead, 59-35, with 10:40 left. Wesleyan never threatened the Monarchs in the second half.
 
Jones said Williams played well in the second half after a poor first half.
 
"We challenged him at halftime and he went back out there in the second half and I thought played much better," Jones said.
 
Baker said the team chemistry is developing nicely.
 
"We're a team that's going to battle," he said. "We're a team that's not going to give up ever. Monarch fans have got something to look forward to."
 
The Monarchs travel to Ball State on Saturday for a 2 p.m. game in the inaugural MAC-Sun Belt Classic, which matches teams from the Sun Belt and Mid-American conferences. 
 
The Monarchs then travel to Arkansas of the SEC on Nov 13 before hosting Princeton on Wednesday, Nov. 22, at 4 p.m. Princeton advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last season. 
 
"With Ball State and Arkansas, that's a big trip and it's going to be a big test," Jones said.
 
"Playing a MAC team on the road is not an easy task. Arkansas was in the preseason Top 25. We've got new guys, young guys and when you go on the road, you've got to be ready. If you're not, you're going to take some lumps. Win or lose, you want to learn from the experience and get better. That's what this time of year is all about."