ODU Men's Basketball Continues Cinderella Run in Sun Belt Tournament With 61-56 Victory Over App State

PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Old Dominion men’s basketball team extended what has already been a magical postseason at least one more night in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

Playing on what should have been tired legs for the third game in three nights, the Monarchs nonetheless outhustled App State and played with superior poise down the stretch and stunned the sixth-seeded Mountaineers, 61-56, late Friday night at the Pensacola Bay Center.

ODU (15-19), which had not won a postseason game since 2019, now advances to the tournament quarterfinals, where the Monarchs will take on third-seeded Troy (20-10).

A victory over Troy would send the Monarchs to Sunday's semifinals against James Madison, the second seed.

The 10^th-seeded Monarchs opened the tournament on Wednesday with a 67-49 victory over 11^th-seed Louisiana and then on Thursday, upset seventh-seeded Texas State, 64-61, on a last-second three-point shot from Robert Davis Jr.

Videos of Davis’ game-winner have garnered hundreds of thousands of views online and was also broadcast on ESPN’s SportsCenter, and has made ODU something of a Cinderella team nationally. 

ODU is the only Sun Belt team to beat a higher seed through four days of tournament play.

Davis continued to play a key role for the Monarchs, as he scored 18 points and played all 40 minutes.

But guard Sean Durugordon was the hero on this night, as he poured in 21 points, including ODU’s last six in the final 1:49 when the Monarchs were fending off an App State comeback.

Durugordon added 12 rebounds for his third double double in a row.

“He’s a senior and has been in these moments and just wants to keep playing,” said Mike Jones, ODU’s first-year head coach.“ He put us on his back today.

“We just want to keep playing. As long as we keep playing we’re going to play our rear ends off.”

RJ Blakney, the senior guard, had another stellar effort, scoring 10 points and playing outstanding defense.

The Sun Belt bracket was designed to give an advantage to the teams with better regular-season records by allowing them generous byes. Top seeds South Alabama and James Madison received byes all the way to Sunday’s semifinals.

App State had not played a tournament game yet and neither has Troy. 

And yet, ODU played with as much or more energy than App State, especially on defense, limiting the Mountaineers to just 20 second-half points.

“Giving up just 20 points in the second half is what I’m most proud of,” Jones said. “That is unbelievable to hold that team to 20 points in a half. That was special and that’s why we’re playing tomorrow.”

The Monarchs trailed by six after a first half in which Davis made just two of 10 shots. But Davis began the second half with a three-point shot and then shot ODU into a three-point lead, 44-41, on a baseline jumper six minutes into the second half.

App State then went on a 7-0 run and to retake the lead and then, with 8:48 left, pulled into a 51-46 lead on a Jamil Muttilib three-point shot.

Yet the Monarchs kept their poise and battled back into the game as their defense limited App State to just five points the rest of the way.

Durugordon made a fallaway three-pointer with 5:55 left that gave the Monarchs a 53-51 lead they would not relinquish.

Durugordon pushed it to 55-51 on a jump shot with 3:09 left and then made another jumper with 1:50 left that gave ODU a 57-54 lead.

App narrowed the lead to one, 57-56, on two CJ Huntley foul shots and after an ODU turnover, the Mountaineers had a chance to retake the lead.

But Myles Tate, the first-team All-Sun Belt guard, missed a three-point shot, then after Alonzo Dodd pulled down the rebound for App State, Tate missed another jumper with 20 seconds left.

Forced to foul, App State fouled the wrong guy as Durugordon made four-of-four foul shots in the final 17.7 seconds.

Jones had particular praise for Durugordon and Davis.

"We've got a team full of guys who have worked their rear ends off and have done so many great things, but obviously in terms of scoring and Sean with rebounding, they've shouldered that all season long," he said.

"They work hard. They're great people and they're great young men. And this is what I think we should expect from them."

Jones said he was totally focused on App State and has not yet seen the scouting report on Troy.

“I’ll get a crash course on Troy later tonight,” Jones said. “But I will say this. Scott Cross is an unbelievable coach and I don’t care who’s on his team, his team is going to be prepared.

“They have the conference player of the year (guard Tayton Conerway), so we obviously have a tall task in front of us.”