ODU Basketball Takes Texas State into Overtime, but Battling the Flu and Foul Trouble, Falls 92-83

PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Old Dominion men's basketball team played with heart and passion Tuesday night. But battling foul trouble and a flu bug that sapped the strength of half of the team, the Monarchs fell in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
 
The Monarchs led Texas State by 12 early in the second half, and appeared to win in regulation on a desperation heave by Chaunce Jenkins from behind the half-court line.
 
But the shot did not get off until after the buzzer sounded, and with the Monarchs running on fumes, Texas State dominated in overtime and claimed a 92-83 victory at the Pensacola Bay Center.
 
Monarch forward Tyrone Williams, the Oregon transfer from Philadelphia, had a memorable final college basketball game as the graduate transfer scored a career-high 36 points. He made 15 of 29 shots, all five of his free throws and yanked down seven rebounds.
 
The Monarchs (7-25), who lost eight of their last nine regular-season games, vowed to make noise in Pensacola in spite of their poor finish in a season in which they faced much adversity.
 
Head coach Jeff Jones was sidelined with a heart attack in December, and the Monarchs have dropped a ton of close, heartbreaking losses.
 
They managed to make noise even though half a dozen or so ODU players were feeling the effects of a flu bug. And in a game called unusually tightly by game officials -- the teams combined for 70 foul shots -- the Monarchs got themselves in deep foul trouble.
 
ODU shot as well as Texas State, both at 44 percent, and outrebounded the Bobcats, 44-37. But the game was lost at the foul line, where the Monarchs were outscored, 32-19.

Five Monarchs finished with four fouls while R.J. Blakney fouled out.
 
A new era begins next season for ODU, as Monarch alum Mike Jones takes over as head coach. The Maryland assistant coach gave the Monarchs a pep talk on Sunday morning when they returned from a road trip to Georgia Southern.
 
Interim head coach Kieran Donohue paid homage to his players and their effort in their last game.
 
"We're obviously disappointed to have lost this game," Donohue said. "I thought we had a great effort by our players.
 
"Had the game been a half second longer, it would have been a very different result.
 
"It's been a very challenging season. Our players fought a lot of adversity. You know they bent but they never broke. They really gave everything they had tonight."
 
Athletic trainer Jason Mitchell worked most of the day Tuesday with the sick players, feeding them vitamin concoctions and using IV's to keep them hydrated.
 
"Six or seven guys weren't sure they would be able to play," Donohue said. "It's a testament to our guys that they played with so much pride, with so much heart."
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ODU led by 12 early in the second half, but watched as the Bobcats trimmed the lead to two with 9:01 left on three foul shots by Coleton Benson, who led Texas State with 28 points.
 
Williams made back-to-back layups to build the lead back to six and ODU held onto to the lead until the final seconds. Benson's three-pointer with 41 seconds left tied the score at 71-all.
 
Jenkins' apparent three-pointer at the final buzzer set off a wild but short-lived celebration by ODU players who returned to the bench after they realized the game was not over. Donohue said that was an emotional blow for the Monarchs.
 
Texas State got off to a 16-1 lead against the Monarchs en route to an 65-36 route of ODU in last year's Sun Belt Tournament.
 
But it was ODU jumped out to a quick first-half lead Tuesday night. Imo Essien made a three-point shot and Williams a breakway dunk to give the Monarchs a 9-4 lead four minutes into the game.
 
Dani Pounds made two free throws and then Williams two more to give ODU a 35-24 lead with 2:41 left.
 
After Texas State scored four consecutive points, Bryce Baker drilled a three-point shot just before the final buzzer to give ODU a 10-point halftime lead.
 
The Monarchs celebrated as they went to their locker room at halftime with momentum clearly on their side. But Donohue said in the end, Texas State outworked ODU when it counted.
 
"In the game's first 30 minutes, I thought we outworked them," he said. "But in the last 10, they outworked us.
 
"I thought you saw two teams that didn't have the kind of seasons they expected to have, that you saw two teams really, really competing at a high level, two teams with a bunch of players who did not want their seasons to end."
 
He said everyone involved with ODU basketball should be looking forward to next season with anticipation.
 
"It will be a new page for Old Dominion basketball," he said. "And I think the future is bright."