Men’s Basketball Off to a 2-0 Start in Costa Rica

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica – The Old Dominion Men’s Basketball Team opened up its international trip this week with a couple of wins over the Costa Rica Select Team on Monday and Tuesday.

The Monarchs’ first game of the week was played at the Gimnasio Nacional. ODU built an early 26-19 lead in the opening quarter, but saw that margin shrink to a point, 39-38 at halftime. Costa Rica Select pulled ahead by a basket, 54-52 in the third quarter, but ODU seized back control in the final 10 minutes to come away with a 78-71 victory.

“A tough game, a really hard-fought game,” said ODU Head Coach Mike Jones afterwards. “We’re very appreciative of them. Their coaches, who I’ve known for a few years, are really good and then they have some really good players. They’re a very physical, older team and were a great challenge for us in our first time out together.”

Robert Davis Jr. and Drew McKenna paced the offense with 13 points each. Davis Jr. added three rebounds and an assist to his totals, and McKenna also pulled down seven rebounds with one assist and one steal.

Also finishing in double figures were Caelum Swanton-Rodger with 11 points and KC Shaw with 10. Jordan Battle led the Monarchs on the glass, securing nine rebounds, and flirted with a double-double as he netted eight points.

“We saw a lot of good things and a lot of things we’ll have to be better at on Tuesday, but all in all it’s about winning and scoring more points than the other team and we got that done tonight,” continued Jones.

Tuesday’s second game proved to be a more one-sided affair, with the Monarchs quickly setting the tone. Held at the Polideportivo Grecia sports complex in Grecia, Costa Rica, Old Dominion jumped out to a 23-12 start, then swelled that lead to 58-26 after the first 20 minutes of action.

ODU continued to pull away down the stretch as 14 different players found the scoring column. The Monarchs distanced themselves 79-38 after three quarters of play and would go on to a 103-46 final.

Four players finished in double figures. McKenna led the way with 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists and one block. Zacch Wiggins was next with 15 points, eight boards, three assists, two blocks and a pair of steals. Swanton-Rodger followed with 13 points and five rebounds, and Scottie Hubbard contributed 10 points with five rebounds, two assists and a steal.

“Awesome performance by our guys today,” Jones said of the second win. “Really did a good job of sharing the ball and playing for one another. The unselfishness was very contagious, and then a lot of the guys that don’t always get the recognition and the acknowledgement of their contributions, they were able to get in tonight and everybody had a great time.”

After catching an early flight to Miami on Sunday morning, the team arrived in San José in the middle of the afternoon and took a short bus ride to its hotel. Once checked into their rooms, the group had a couple hours of free time before concluding the evening with a team dinner with support staff, family, and donors.

Also, before its first game, the Monarchs spent some time hosting a clinic with Special Olympics students from Escuelas Deportivas of Costa Rica.

ODU is on its first trip abroad since the program went to Spain in August 2016.

“A great win for us today,” said Jones. “We get a couple of days to relax a little bit before we get after it in Game Three on Saturday. As always, we appreciate your support and we’re going to try and keep it rolling. Go Monarchs!”