By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion's men's basketball team has lost nine of its last 10 games, is playing with an interim coach and has won just five games all season. But if there was any quit in the Monarchs, it did not show Saturday night.
Trailing by 16 near the midpoint of the second half, the Monarchs mounted a furious rally to trim the lead to one before falling to Georgia Southern, 76-70, before, 5,519 at Chartway Arena.
The Monarchs got within a point, 69-68, with 32 seconds left when Chaunce Jenkins knocked the ball away on an inbound pass, and then caught the ball while diving out of bounds, and tossed it to R.J. Blakney, who made a layup.
But with ODU forced to foul, the Eagles made 7 of 8 free throws in the final seconds to hold off the Monarchs.
ODU did not shoot well (23 of 64 shots, 35.9 percent), but played hard on defense and appeared in sync on offense, as the Monarchs shared the ball better than they have all season.
"No one is here for moral victories," interim coach Kieran Donohue said. "But I do think our guys played pretty good basketball for a large part of the game.
"It looked and felt like tonight was a step in the right direction. There were times earlier in the season when we've looked and games have felt like this.
"We need it more often, we need it more consistently, but this was a step in the right direction."
It was ODU's annual alumni night and the game was viewed by some of ODU's best players from the past, including Wilson Washington, Trey Freeman and Joel Copeland.
ODU (5-16 overall, 1-8 Sun Belt) was without freshman Vasean Allette, the team's leading scorer. Donohue said he did not play "because of conduct unbecoming a Monarch," but declined to say how long Allette might not play.
Jenkins, the junior from Newport News who was an All-Sun Belt preseason first-team pick, took up some of the scoring slack, scoring 20 points in spite of often being double teamed by the Eagles.
Devin Ceaser, the sophomore transfer from Buffalo, added 16 and Blakney, a transfer from Dayton, had 11.
With freshman forward Dani Pounds in early foul trouble, Leeroy Odiahi, a 6-foot-11 junior college transfer from Tralee, Ireland, played a season-high 23 minutes and led ODU with eight rebounds.
Imo Essien started at point guard for the Monarchs and had six points, five rebounds and some good perspective at game's end.
Asked if ODU played with more effort than in recent games, he replied: "Absolutely, 100 percent.
"I feel like we fought for the entire 40 minutes. They went on runs and that's how basketball is played. But I think that ultimately, we did have a better competitive spirit today."
"During the flow of the game, the ball was hot, the ball was popping," he added. "Different guys touched it, different guys shot it. We were moving it and moving ourselves."
Georgia Southern (5-16, 5-4) led, 45-29, seven minutes into the second half when the Monarchs reeled off nine consecutive points.
ODU men's basketball alumni on the Chartway Arena court at halftime.
Essien then cut the lead to four, 61-57, on a three-point shot with five minutes left.
ODU trailed by six with 49 seconds left when Jenkins halved the lead with a three-point shot.
On the next play, Jenkins tipped the ball away from Cam Bryant and into Blakney's hands for a layup and brought a thunderous outburst from the home crowd.
After Banks made 1of 2 free throws, Jenkins drove the lane on an attempted layup and drew contact from two Georgia Southern defenders, but alas for ODU, no foul was called.
Georgia Southern's Nate Brafford made all foul shots he took in the final seconds to end any chance of an ODU comeback.
ODU hits the road for the next three games, playing at Marshall (Feb. 1), James Madison (Feb. 3) and Southern Miss (Feb. 7) before returning home on Saturday, Feb. 10, for a 2 p.m. game against Central Michigan in the Mid-American Conference-Sun Belt Challenge.
Donohoe said he told his players after the game that they have no choice but to keep playing hard.
"What those young men are going through is very challenging," Donohue said.
"But we have to keep fighting because the alternative isn't an option if you're a competitor."
ODU Men's Basketball Team Stages a Furious Rally, but Falls to Georgia Southern 76-70
Chaunce Jenkins led ODU with 20 points in spite of being often double teamed