ODU Men's Basketball Team Plays Better In Second Round of Cayman Islands Classic, But Falls to High Point, 73-67
GEORGE TOWN, The Cayman Islands – The Old Dominion men’s basketball team played better in the second round of the Cayman Islands Classic than it did in the first, but still came up just short of a victory on Monday evening.
The Monarchs led much of the first half, and after falling behind in the second half, rallied to make it close down the stretch, before finally falling to High Point, 73-67.
ODU played more cohesively and with more effort on defense than the Monarchs did Sunday night in loss to Boston College.
Mike Jones, ODU’s first-year head coach, was critical of his team’s play in the loss to Boston College.
“I told my guys that I do not believe in moral victories,” he said. “But I’m proud of the effort. I’m proud of the maturity.
“We could have packed it in after yesterday’s loss and we didn’t. But at the same time, we didn’t win and this is a game we could have won.”
High Point (6-1) is a highly respected mid-major that finished 27-9 last season.
ODU (2-4) takes on Duquesne (0-6), the Atlantic 10 school from Pittsburgh, Tuesday morning at 11 in the final of three games in three days for the Monarchs.
ODU led by 11 midway through the first half, 20-9, but slowly saw the lead evaporate as the Panthers tied the score at halftime, 34-34.
The Monarchs trailed by eight, 65-57, with 3:36 to go and cut the lead to four before their rally fizzled.
Jones said there were lessons to be learned from both the first and second halves.
“We haven’t been in this situation per se, being down by so much and trying to come back and having a lead in the first half and trying to hold onto it,” he said.
“These are experiences we have to learn from so that we can learn how to win.”
The team is an amalgam of new recruits, transfers and holdovers and he said it will take time for the team to jell.
Jones, who had been going deep into his bench before this tournament, stuck largely with his starters, as four substitutes played just 30 minutes.
Siena transfer Sean Durugordon played 34 minutes and led ODU with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Robert Davis Jr., the transfer from UMass, played 39 minutes and scored 15 points, all from three-point shots. Freshman point guard Jaden Johnson played 37 minutes and had 14 points, six assists and four rebounds.
ODU trailed by eight with 3:36 left but cut it to five on a Devin Ceaser three-pointer and then to four, 68-64, with 53 seconds left, on a Davis free throw.
High Point built the lead back to eight, but Durugordon made a three-point play, and then the Monarchs forced a turnover. But two Davis three-point attempts rimmed out.
“High Point, if you read anywhere,is one of the top five non Power 4 programs in the country and we went toe to toe with them,” Jones said. “We’re capable of doing that. That’s what we’re going to embrace and what we’re going to do.”
Johnson added that he and his teammates, "we want to get that win.
"We didn't get it tonight, but we've got a chance to come out here tomorrow and get one. We're going to come out here and work hard.
"I feel like we made progress from yesterday to today. So, we've just got to make even more progress and just leave the island with a win."