By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – On what was an emotional day for Old Dominion’s basketball program, the Monarchs honored their seniors and about 50 alumni, retired the jersey of all-time leading scorer Ronnie Valentine and then won a big game in convincing fashion.
KC Shaw scored 28 points and the Monarchs led nearly throughout as they drubbed Georgia State, 78-55, Saturday at Chartway Arena.
The victory ended a three-game Sun Belt losing streak, and helped brighten what was in nearly every way an upbeat day for the Monarchs.
Two seniors made the most of their day.
Shaw, the transfer from Maryland-Eastern Shore, made 13 of 18 shots and had four dunks.
Caelum Swanton-Rodger, the 7-foot transfer from Maryland who has improved much in his two years at ODU, had 17 points, 10 rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists.
ODU (9-18 overall, 5-9 Sun Belt) dominated inside, outrebounding Georgia State, 45-33, and outscoring the Panthers in the paint, 38-16. The Monarch defense was also strong, as Georgia State (9-18, 6-8) made just 17 of 66 shots (25.8 percent).
“I want to start off by saying how proud I am of our team and the effort and execution and just the joy they played with today,” ODU Head Coach Mike Jones said.
“Today was about a lot of different things. Having our alumni come back, having so many guys come back with us to be present and Mr. Valentine’s jersey retirement, somebody who was clearly a trailblazer in terms of ODU’s men’s basketball, and to be able to celebrate our seniors, there was just a lot.
“And to do it the way we did it, with as complete a 40 minutes as we’ve had this season. I could not be more proud.”
Valentine’s jersey number 42 was retired at halftime. Dr. Wood Selig, ODU’s director of athletics, presented Valentine and his mother, Nancy Valentine Hawkins, a replica jersey. The crowd of 4,759 gave him a sustained standing ovation.
ODU honored its seniors, LJ Thomas, Jordan Battle and Cooper Jones, in addition to Shaw and Swanton-Rodger, just prior to the game. They marched onto the court with their families and received framed jerseys from President Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D., and Dr. Selig.
Then the Monarchs went on to play one of their best games of the season.
ODU held a precarious 26-24 lead late in the first half when the Monarchs went on a run.
Swanton-Rodger made two free throws and then Jared Turner a three-pointer and the Monarchs led by seven, 31-24, with 1:50 left.
Turner made a three-point shot with 42 seconds left and Shaw made a fast-break dunk to give ODU a 36-26 halftime lead.
ODU led 46-35 early in the second half when the Monarchs broke it open with a 16-1 run.
“We had a lot of energy from the start of shootaround,” Shaw said. “We had so many people to honor today. We wanted to play for all of them.”
Walk-ons and others who played sparingly finished the game for both teams, and the crowd erupted when Jones, a popular walk-on from Lanexa, Virginia, made a three-point shot with 24 seconds left.
“I knew it was cash when it left my hands,” Jones said, tongue in cheek.
“It was a special moment for sure. It’s a memory I’ll definitely cherish.”
Battle, who graduated from Norfolk Collegiate, transferred from Coastal Carolina as a senior. He came into the game as the second leading scorer for the Monarchs, with 13.8 points per game. He had seven points and three assists Saturday
Thomas, who transferred from Austin Peay for his senior year, also had seven points. He entered the game averaging 11.3 points.
Shaw said it was good to see ODU’s walk-ons, including CJ Parker and Rieco Hellams, get playing time.
“They bring a lot behind the scenes and in practice,” Shaw said. “They get us to work. We give credit to them just like we do to everybody else.”
ODU next plays Louisiana Monday at 5 p.m. in its final home game of the season at Chartway Arena.
Minium is ODU's Senior Executive Writer for Athletics. Contact him at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
To see past stories from Minium, CLICK HERE