HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Old Dominion men’s basketball cut a 14-point second-half deficit down to five points, but the Monarchs could not catch the Marshall Thundering Herd as they fell, 97-88 on Tuesday night at the Cam Henderson Center.
KC Shaw and Jordan Battle led the offensive effort with 26 and 24 points, respectively. Shaw had 17 points at halftime and added a team-high seven rebounds with two assists to his final line. Battle knocked down two of the team’s four three-pointers and grabbed five boards with four assists and two steals. Also finishing in double figures was Caelum Swanton-Rodger, who matched his season high of 17 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the floor. He added three rebounds and recorded a pair of blocks.
The Monarchs (10-20, 6-11 Sun Belt) shot 47.1% (33-for-70) from the floor, 22.2% (4-for-18) from the perimeter, and 90% (18-for-20) at the free-throw line.
“We played eight different defenses tonight, and not one of them was able to sustain. We had two minutes here and two minutes there where we at least slowed them down, but it was not good enough,” ODU head coach Mike Jones said of his team’s defensive effort.
Shaw kept the Monarchs within striking distance for most of the first half. The senior from Charlotte, North Carolina opened the game with a highlight slam dunk and made multiple shots to keep ODU within a point. After an old-fashioned three-point play by Battle allowed the Monarchs to pull even at 18-18 with just under 12 minutes to play, Marshall’s Shamarrie Hugie made a pair of free throws and added a deep ball to highlight a 9-2 run by the Herd (19-11, 11-6).
Following an LJ Thomas jumper in the paint that cut the hosts’ lead to 29-26 at the 8:14 mark, Marshall’s Wyatt Fricks went off for 10 unanswered points by himself. Trailing 41-29, the Monarchs got a couple of free throws from Shaw and a couple of buckets from Swanton-Rodger to keep things manageable, 41-35 with 2:57 to go. Landen Joseph got a shot to fall and then went 2-for-2 at the line to increase the Marshall lead to 49-40, and Battle scored a layup with 26 seconds left as ODU went into the locker room down 49-42.
“When we played them in Norfolk, we were the more physical team in the first half, especially on the defensive end. They scored 34 points. We did not have that physicality in the second half in Norfolk, and we did not have it in either half today. The physicality required to guard a team as good as they are, when they can just flow and move freely, they can score on NBA teams. We required physicality tonight and we didn’t get it.”
In the second half, Joseph and Noah Otshudi combined for three-straight three-pointers to give the Herd its largest lead of the game, 67-53 with 13:53 on the clock. ODU was able to get back to within single digits, 74-65, thanks to four free throws from Shaw and Thomas and a dunk by Swanton-Rodger.
Battle scored a jumper and Scottie Hubbard followed with a corner three to whittle the Herd lead down to six, 76-70 at the 8:34 mark. Then with 7:27 remaining, Swanton-Rodger was fouled on a made bucket and converted his shot at the charity stripe to get the Monarchs to within five, 80-75.
That was as close as ODU would get, though, as the hosts took off again with an 11-2 swing. A couple of late threes by Battle and Jared Turner cut the difference to 95-88, but by then there was only eight seconds left. Otshudi rounded out the scoring with a pair of made free throws.
“We had two or three turnovers in a row. Then because we’re scrambling, because we’re putting up such a fight in terms of playing hard, we gave up a couple buckets and it ballooned back.”
ODU outscored Marshall in the paint, 52-44. The Monarchs also edged the Herd in second-chance points, 17-10, and points off the bench, 10-9. ODU also won the battle on the glass, 34-31, but Marshall led for over 38 minutes. There was just one tie and only three lead changes.
“We scored 88 points and didn’t shoot the ball well by any stretch, but were still able to do it. We got plenty of points in the paint. We’ve got to keep fighting and it’s going to require some momentum going into Pensacola and a special week. That’s what we believe we are capable of, so let’s get after it.”
Up Next
Old Dominion will close out the regular season at Georgia State on Friday. Opening tip at the GSU Convocation Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.