ODU Basketball Breaks Losing Streak by Blowing Out Marshall, 91-66, to the Delight of 6,158 Fans

By Harry Minium
 
NORFOLK, Va. – An Old Dominion men's basketball program that was desperately in need of some good news had a very good night on Thursday.
 
Playing in front of a raucous crowd of 6,158 at Chartway Arena, the Monarchs broke a six-game losing streak by thrashing Marshall, 91-66.
 
It was the most points ODU (5-13 overall, 1-5 Sun Belt) has scored since Feb. 15, 2018, when the Monarchs defeated UTSA, 100-62.
 
Freshman Vasean Allette poured in 27 points and added eight assists, and Chaunce Jenkins added 16 points in spite of being in foul trouble, on a night when Monarch shooters were red-hot and the defense was as good as it's been in a long time.
 
ODU had lost ten out of 11 games and was coming off an emotional weekend.
 
Head coach Jeff Jones, who was sidelined after suffering a heart attack in Hawaii last month, told the team Sunday night that he would not return this season for health reasons.
 
"In a way, learning about coach Jones made us closer," said Jason Wade, a senior from Richmond. "It brought us together. We played much better as a team tonight."
 
Interim coach Kieran Donohue acknowledged that "this has been a hard week. But it's also been a very hard stretch," he said.
 
"Tonight, we got a terrific performance from our players. I couldn't be happier for our players. And I couldn't be prouder of them.
 
"For them to stick together through all that we've been through, to continue to believe in themselves, continue to believe in the coaching staff, is just amazing."

The Monarchs have suffered some dispiriting losses. In their last two games, the Monarchs led by 21 points and eight and yet dropped narrow losses at Georgia State and Coastal Carolina.
 
This time the Monarchs not only didn't lose a big lead, they built on it.
 
Trailing 38-34 at halftime, the Monarchs took the lead for good, 45-43, on a driving layup in the lane from Tyrone Williams four minutes into the second half.


Chaunce Jenkins had 16 points for ODU. 

Williams, who had 13 points, upped the lead to 54-44 on a three-pointer three minutes later and the Monarchs led by 15, 63-48, on a pair of free throws by R.J. Blakney midway through the second half.
 
Marshall (9-10, 4-2) trimmed the lead to 10, 65-55, but the Monarchs went on a 9-0 run and the rout was on. Blakney, who had 12 points and led ODU with eight rebounds, put a punctuation mark on the victory with a breakaway dunk with 1:07 to go.
 
Bryce Baker also finished in double figures with 12 points.
 
Although dwarfed in size by the Thundering Herd, ODU outscored Marshall, 42-26, in the paint and won the rebound battle, 46-43. The Monarchs had 19 points from turnovers compared to four for Marshall.
 
ODU made 37 of 74 shots (50 percent), including 10 of 23 (43.5 percent) three-pointers and were particularly hot when blowing the game open in the second half. ODU made 23 of 34 second-half shots (67.6 percent).
 
Marshall, meanwhile, made 22 of 64 shots (34.4 percent), and made just seven of 32 three-pointers (21.9 percent).
 
"It was just really rewarding to see our players come out and play as well as they did and get the result we did tonight. This was obviously a much-needed win," Donohue said.
 
"But more than that, it shows I think a glimpse of what kind of a team we can become more often. And that's our challenge right now. Can we be more like this team was tonight?


Vasean Allette with two of his 27 points against Marshall.  

"Tonight, we shared the ball really well. We got contributions from everyone and we guarded and we rebounded well. And we were really, really focused.
 
"The challenge for us now is to enjoy this wisely tonight and come back tomorrow and want more of this."
 
Allette said that's exactly what the team wants.
 
"We've gone through a little drought and it's been tough in the locker room and it's been tough on the court," he said.
 
 "I feel like this win took a lot of pressure off of our shoulders and lot of weight off our chests knowing we could dig down and lock in together and come up with a victory like this.
 
"I feel like there's hope moving forward."

ODU hosts Louisiana-Monroe Saturday at 7 p.m. in the second of a four-game home stand.
 
The Monarchs also host James Madison Wednesday, Jan. 24, at 7 and Georgia Southern Saturday, Jan. 27, at 7.
 
The Georgia Southern game is part of a doubleheader with the ODU women's team, which hosts Georgia State at 1 p.m. in its annual alumni game.