ODU Men's Basketball Rolls Past Louisiana, 67-49, in Sun Belt Tournament Opener

PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Old Dominion men’s basketball team still faces a long road to win the Sun Belt championship, but thanks to a career performance from Caelum Swanton-Rodger and a second-half scoring burst from Sean Durugordon, the Monarchs gave first-year Head Coach Mike Jones his first postseason victory. 

Swanton-Rodger poured in a career-high 18 points and Durugordon scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half as the Monarchs pulled away from Louisiana, 67-49, in its opening game in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at the Pensacola Bay Center.

The Monarchs (13-19) meet Texas State (16-15) Thursday night at 8:30 in the third round. ODU must win four more games in four days to get to Monday’s Sun Belt championship game, but for now, they’ve done what they had to do – survived to play another day.

ODU had not won a postseason game since 2019, when the Monarchs defeated Western Kentucky, 62-56, in the Conference USA championship game, and Jones said he was proud his team ended that losing streak. 

“I told the guys in the locker room just before we walked onto the court” that the Monarchs hadn’t won in the postseason since 2019, Jones said.

"We were aware we hadn't won in a long time."

“Getting that first win gives us a lot of confidence going into the next game,” added senior guard R.J. Blakney, who had eight points. “We’re definitely grateful for this win.”

Louisiana (12-21) entered Wednesday’s game having won five of its last eight games and while the Ragin’ Cajuns kept it close most of the way, the Monarchs used their superior size and speed to pull away.

Durugordon, a third-team All-Sun Belt choice, had his 14^th double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Jones has often called Swanton-Rodger one of the best big men in the Sun Belt, and the 7-foot junior center from Calgary, Alberta, Canada certainly looked the part on Wednesday.

He made nine of 13 shots and had 10 rebounds to tally his first career college double-double. He added three blocked shots.

Point guard Jaden Johnson played a superb floor game and had nine assists. Robert Davis Jr. added 10 points. 

Taller and more physical than the Ragin’ Cajuns, ODU outrebounded Louisiana, 43-24, and had a 36-26 scoring advantage in the paint.  

Swanton-Rodger was red hot from the opening tip as he poured in eight points in the game’s first five minutes. Durugordon’s fast-break layup with 1:09 left gave ODU a 29-23 lead the Monarchs carried into the second half.

Jones said the Monarchs did not play well in the first half.

"We had the first-game tournament jitters," he said. "But we overcame that in the second half."

Louisiana kept it close in the early minutes of the second half, but then Swanton-Rodger gave the Monarchs the lead for good, 40-38, on a dunk shot with 13:51 to go. Two minutes later, he had another dunk that gave the Monarchs a 44-39 lead.

Durugordon had a three-point shot and Blakney a layup with 7:24 left and ODU led by 10, 54-44.

Blakney’s layup with 4:19 left gave the Monarchs a 60-46 lead and ODU coasted from there.

The Monarchs have been beset with injuries and lost some heartbreakingly close games, but through it all, Jones said, “we stayed together."

“We’ve been through a lot. And you know, I’ve been around this game long enough to know that a lot of other teams wouldn’t have persevered through everything we’ve been through.

“I’ve been patient with them and they’ve been patient with me and through the good times and the bad times, we haven’t wavered. We haven’t blinked.”

Texas State eliminated ODU from the last two Sun Belt tournaments. ODU headed into the 2023 tournament with a 19-12 record but the Monarchs played poorly and fell to the Bobcats, 65-36.

The Monarchs led most of the way against Texas State last season, but beset with foul trouble and hobbled by the flu, ODU fell to the Bobcats in overtime, 92-83.

ODU upended Texas State, 75-64, on Feb. 5 at Chartway Arena.

“They had a couple of guys who did not play the last time we played them,” Jones said. “Regardless of who they suit up, we’ve got to worry about what we can control.

“We can control our effort and we can control our execution.

“Texas State has been our nemesis in this tournament and we get another shot at them tomorrow.”