GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman Islands – Old Dominion University men’s basketball dropped the final game of the Cayman Islands Classic to Duquesne, 67-54, on Tuesday afternoon.
Old Dominion (2-6) trailed 26-19 at halftime and cut the lead to five at 28-23 with a basket by Sean Durugordon just 30 seconds into the second half. But the Dukes followed with a 10-2 run to increase their lead to 13 before a three-pointer from Robert Davis Jr. cut the lead back to 10 at 38-28 with 14 minutes remaining.
The Monarchs then went on a 6-0 run catapulted by buckets from Jaden Johnson, Devin Ceaser and Dani Pounds to cut the lead to six at 40-34. Matus Hronsky hit a three to put Duquesne (1-6) back up by nine with 12 minutes left in the game.
ODU cut the lead to eight at 49-41 on a bucket from Ceaser but the Monarchs wouldn’t get any closer the rest of the way.
It was a back-and-forth game early with the lead changing four times in the first 12 minutes. ODU took a 10-9 lead on a jumper by Ceaser before Duquesne took a 16-14 lead with just under nine minutes remaining in the first half and the Dukes stayed out front for the rest of the game.
Ceaser led ODU in scoring with 23 points, notching his third 23-point game of the season, as he shot 9-for-20 from the field and 5-for-6 at the free-throw line. Pounds followed with seven points and six rebounds while Stephaun Walker led the Monarchs on the glass with 10 boards. ODU scored more second-chance points (11-10), fast-break points (17-16), and points off the bench (30-29).
ODU returns home from the islands to host William & Mary on Monday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.