Second Half Comeback Falls Short As Men's Basketball Falls To Coastal Carolina

CONWAY, S.C. -- A frantic second half comeback fell short for Old Dominion on Saturday as Braeden MacVicar hit two free throws with 0.3 seconds left as Coastal Carolina held on for a 79-75 win at the HTC Center.
 
"We saw a lot of good things. It's very frustrating to come out on the losing end, but we played very well, shared the ball well, didn't shoot the ball that well and the basketball gods weren't with us," said ODU Interim Head Coach Kieran Donohue. "We played offensively the way we wanted to, the ball just didn't go in enough."
 
Jaland Whitehead hit a hook shot with 4:30 left to give the Chanticleers a 31-22 advantage. ODU went on a 13-3 run to close the half as Vasean Allette had a jumper to put ODU up 35-33 with 22 seconds left in the half. Henry Abraham went 1-of-2 from the line with seven seconds left as ODU took a 35-34 lead into the locker room.
 
Starting the second half Jenkins scored the first seven points for the Monarchs as they took a 42-37 lead with 18:02 left on a pair of free throws. That lead grew to eight as R.J. Blakney had consecutive buckets with a three-pointer from the baseline and a jumper in the paint for a 47-39 lead at the 16:41 mark.
 
Coastal Carolina went on a 11-3 spurt to even the contest at 50-all following a Kevin Easley jumper with 13:20 left. That advantage grew to 65-54 with 7:39 remaining on an Abraham 3-pointer to lead 65-54.
 
ODU (4-13, 0-5) had one last flurry trimming the deficit to 75-74 as Tyrone Williams hit a pair of free throws with 33 seconds left. Jenkins went 1-of-2 with 16 seconds left as ODU trailed 76-75. After a Kylan Blackmon free throw,  a last ditch shot was off and MacVicar hit a pair of free throws for the final score.
 
Jenkins had a game-high 24 points, while Allette had his first collegiate double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Ceaser added 10 points off the bench.
 
Blackmon and Jacob Meyer paced five in double figures with 15 points as Coastal Carolina hit 61.5% in the second half from the floor.
 
ODU returns home for four straight games starting with Marshall on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m.