ODU Basketball Rallies From a 12-point Deficit But Falls to Buffalo, 83-82, in Mike Jones First Game as Head Coach
By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – There was a lot to like Monday night in Old Dominion’s first men’s basketball game under first-year Head Coach Mike Jones.
The Monarchs played up-tempo, scoring 82 points and after a tenuous start, played strong defense and shot pretty well. But Tyson Dunn spoiled ODU’s night when he drilled a three-pointer from the far left corner with 1.3 seconds left that lifted the Bulls to an 83-82 victory over ODU.
Robert Davis Jr., the transfer from UMass, scored 25 points, making 8-of-13 three-point shots, with all eight coming in the second half. Stephaun Walker, the transfer from Robert Morris, added 14 points and 13 rebounds,
Dunn was a burr in ODU’s side all night as the 6-foot-3 point guard who transferred from Western Ontario University made 10-of-14 shots, had 10 assists, six rebounds and led the Bulls with 24 points.
For Jones, an ODU alumnus, it was an emotional debut. The crowd of 5,455, though below Chartway Arena’s capacity, was boisterous and supportive.
Jones said when he heard fans chanting, “ODU,” over and over in the second half, “that took me back to my playing days here.”
ODU returned just five players, including two walk-ons, from the team that was 7-25 last season, and as Jones noted, it was the first true game together for a team with 14 newcomers. ODU had two preseason scrimmages against Division I teams.
“But this was the first time playing against domething that truly meant anything,” he said.
Jelling as a team, he said, will take time.
“A one-point loss, frankly it sucks,” he said. “But I’ll be proud of that fact that we didn’t give up.
“I’ll be proud of the fact that we were down 12 in the second half and fought all the way back to take the lead. I’ll be proud of those things with the eye on everything we need to do to get better, and there’s a lot we have to do to get better.
“Ultimately, tonight was about a new beginning and even with the loss, I’ll take this start with that crowd, with those guys by our side, with these guys with Monarchs across their chests.”
Early-on, the Monarchs looked out of sync on both ends of the court.
Their defense was soft and their shooting even softer early-on. The Monarchs missed 11 of their first 12 shots.
Were they nervous? “Not nervous,” Davis said. “Just too eager.”
Buffalo was red hot in the first half, making 15-of-26 shots (59 percent) and led by seven with only seconds left.
Walker dunked the rebound of a missed shot at the buzzer and the Monarchs tailed Buffalo, 43-38, at halftime.
ODU quickly found itself down by 12 in the second half on a Ben Michael jump shot with 13:31 left.
But then the Monarchs began to rally, scoring 10 points over a two-minute stretch. Davis made back-to-back three pointers to trim the lead to one, 67-66, with 8:23 left, drawing the crowd to its feet.
Caelum Swanton-Rodger, the 7-foot transfer from Maryland, then tied the score on a layup with 7:58 left.
The game would go down to the final seconds.
Devin Ceaser, who scored 13 points, gave ODU its first lead of the second half, 79-78, on a driving layup with 51.9 seconds left.
Dunn then made a layup to give the Bulls an 80-79 lead.
Davis was closely guarded, yet made a fall-away three-pointer that gave the Monarchs a 82-80 lead with just 17 seconds left, and the crowd was roaring what it hoped would be an ODU victory.
But Dunn then plunged a dagger into ODU’s hopes of winning its opener.
ODU had to go the length of the court to score with 1.3 seconds left – a precarious situation under any circumstances – but the inbounds pass was batted away.
ODU outrebounded Buffalo, 46-29, but Jones said, “that’s because they didn’t miss many shots.”
“Our defense,” he added, “has got to get better.”
Jones led ODU to two Colonial Athletic Association titles as a player and took part in an 89-81 upset of third-seeded Villanova in the 1995 NCAA Tournament.
Davis said that Jones recruited him successfully by talking about ODU’s storied past.
“Since day one when I met him, he told he just wanted to restore Old Dominion to what it was before, especially what it was when he was here," Davis said.
“And I wanted to be a part of that. I wholeheartedly believe in his image of what this place can be and will be.”
In spite of losing, Jones said it was a night he will never forget.
“When I coached at Virginia Tech and coached at Maryland, this was the only job that I wanted,” he said.
“Coaching my first game here tonight was a dream come true, and I will never forget that.
“It will be everything I need to stay up late tonight, watch this film, and then go vote tomorrow, and then come back and watch more film so that I can get these guys ready when we get back together on Wednesday.”
ODU’s next game is at No. 10 Arizona Saturday.
“We would not have agreed to go out there and play if we weren’t going to out and there and try to win,” he said. “So we’re going to coach these guys up and we’re going to go out there and give it our best shot.”
ODU plays at Radord on Nov. 12 before returning to host Maryland-Eastern Shore on Friday, Nov. 15.