By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – In need of a solid victory, and perhaps a jolt of confidence, the Old Dominion men’s basketball team got both Friday night against Morgan State.
The Monarchs rolled past the Bears, 88-56, at Chartway Arena in what was their most lopsided victory over a Division I team since Dec. 10, 2017, when ODU crushed Bowling Green, 88-46.
The Monarchs (3-3) were coming off back-to-back, disappointing losses at George Washington (96-73) and Xavier (99-69) in which they shot poorly and committed too many turnovers.
The stat sheet looked much better Friday night against Morgan State (1-5). ODU made 48 percent of its shots (29-of-60), outrebounded the Bears (42-36), and had just seven turnovers.
Zacch Wiggins, the freshman from Greensboro, North Carolina, led the Monarchs with 18 points and three assists in just 23 minutes of playing time.
ODU had a balanced scoring attack that included 46 points off the bench. Jared Turner added 14 points, Jordan Battle 12 and LJ Thomas 11.
“I’m happy with the result and the way we played the last two games, this was a much-needed win,” said Mike Jones, ODU’s head coach.
“Our guys shared the ball. We had 17 assists and just seven turnovers. There was so much unselfishness.
“As we are rounding into our identity, I hope that’s something we become known for, for our versatility.”
The Monarchs were without KC Shaw, their leading scorer, who was injured in practice on Thursday.
“I knew with KC out that I had to step up,” Wiggins said.
ODU blew out to a big lead early. Morgan State trailed by two, 16-14, following a steal and layup by Elijah Davis, a transfer from Bowie State, with 13:25 left in the first half.
Robert Davis Jr. made a jump shot and Turner followed with a three-pointer to give the Monarchs a 21-14 lead.
Dallas James, Morgan State’s 7-foot-1 transfer from Indiana, made a hook shot in the lane to briefly staunch the ODU surge. But then the Monarchs went on a 14-0 run over seven minutes and 16 seconds that included breakaway dunks from Donovan Raymond, the transfer from Hampton, and Wiggins.
ODU led, 43-26, at halftime and never allowed the Bears to get close thereafter. Caelum Swanton-Rodger, who had eight points in 13 minutes, caught a pass in mid air and slammed an alley-oop dunk home four minutes into the second half to push the lead to 24 points.
Drew McKenna, the sophomore transfer from Georgetown, added eight points in just 13 minutes of playing time.
The game began with a video tribute for Dr. Jim Jarrett followed by a moment of silence for ODU’s longtime Director of Athletics who passed away last week. Jarrett was ODU’s Athletics Director for 40 years, from 1970 until his retirement in 2010.
There was an empty seat in his honor next to his long-time wife, Sugie Jarrett and other family members. The Monarchs wore warmups with Jim Jarrett on the front during pre-game drills.
Jarrett was among the first athletics directors in the nation to put significant resources into women’s sports that led ODU to claim national championships in field hockey and women's basketball. He also led the school into Division I.
Jarrett’s celebration of life will be Thursday, Dec. 4 at 11 a.m. in the Big Blue Room of Chartway Arena.
"That was a tremendous tribute to Jim Jarrett before the game," Jones said. "My heart goes out to the Jarrett family. He's a big part of the reason why this building is here that we play in, and he was such a pioneer for women's sports."
ODU is on the road for the next 26 days – its next home game is Dec. 17 against James Madison in the Monarchs’ Sun Belt Conference opener. The challenging, five-game road slate includes stops at Drexel, Villanova, William & Mary, Richmond and George Mason.
“Let’s be clear,” Jones said. “We knew the schedule we made. We knew what it was going to be.”
He said at both GW and Xavier, “We weren’t ready to go and didn’t respond.
“Neither of those teams are 23 or 30 points better than us. We just didn’t play well, and to have the opportunity to come back in front of our home crowd, and kind of settle down before we head back out on the road, this was perfect timing for us.
“We know this road trip is going to be incredibly difficult. But all of this is to prepare us to be the best we can be and to try to win the Sun Belt.
“We need to keep our heads up and our confidence about us and just go out there and compete."