NORFOLK, Va. - Jaden Johnson made a driving layup with 36 seconds remaining in the second half to put ODU up 71-68 before three clutch free throws by Sean Durugordon sealed the victory, 74-71 for Old Dominion men's basketball on Saturday afternoon at Chartway Arena against Southern Miss.
Old Dominion is now 6-9 overall and 2-1 in the Sun Belt. The defeat brings Southern Miss to a record of 6-9 and 1-2 in the Sun Belt.
In the first half, neither side could find a definitive edge. USM got out to a seven-point lead at the 9:49 mark after a made layup by Deantoni Gordon. ODU fought back and grabbed its first lead of the game at the 5:27 mark after a Robert Davis Jr. three and a made free throw. Davis finished the first half with 12 points and two threes while Durugordon finished the first half with 11 points.
USM’s Andre Curbelo scored a team high 10 points and five assists. USM shot 58% from deep in the first half, whereas ODU shot 54% from the field and scored more bench points (10-to-3), and paint points (16-to-10).
The second half was back-and-forth, with ODU grabbing a three-point lead (45-42) at the 18:18 mark through a Stephaun Walker layup. USM was able to snatch back the lead, 48-46, at the 14:58 mark after a Curbelo fast break layup. The Golden Eagles stretched their lead to five at 12:05 after three second-chance free throws from Alfred Worrell Jr. scored it 55-50. The Monarchs fought the deficit back and regained the lead 56-55 after a tip-in layup by Caelum Swanton Rodger went in at 8:03. Christian Watson gave Southern Miss its final lead of the night with a three, 63-62, but Jaden Johnson retook the lead for ODU and Stephaun Walker stretched the lead to 66-63. With the score tied at 68, Johnson made a driving layup and was fouled to give ODU a 71-68 lead after hitting the foul shot. Durugordon hit a trio of foul shots down the stretch to secure the Monarch win.
Davis led the Monarchs in scoring with 18 points on the night and matched his career high in assists (4). Durugordon finished with 16 points, a team leading nine rebounds, he went 8-11 from the charity stripe and had a career high four steals. Johnson played all but 30 seconds in the win and had a career high nine assists and with one turnover. Caelum Swanton-Rodger matched his career high 12 points tonight and grabbed eight boards. R.J. Blakney played 27 minutes and shot 75% from the field.
As a team, Old Dominion shot 46% from the field (25-54), 76% from the stripe (22-29), and grabbed 32 rebounds - 10 of which were offensive rebounds. ODU scored 32 points in the paint, 16 off turnovers by USM. Old Dominion found victory despite only shooting 11.8% from deep (2-17). ODU had to be successful around the margins of the game, because USM shot 52.6% from deep (10-19) and shot 45% from the field (23-51). The Golden Eagles grabbed 34 rebounds.
Old Dominion will get ready for a two-game road trip down south for Sun Belt Conference action, battling Louisiana in Lafayette before heading to Mobile, Alabama to take on South Alabama.