NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion men’s basketball trailed by as many as 11 points, but a couple of late threes by Bubu Benjamin, strong defense, and effective free-throw shooting in the closing minutes helped the Monarchs to an 80-74 comeback victory over Longwood on Saturday night at Chartway Arena.
“Really good win,” said ODU head coach Mike Jones. “I’m proud of our team. Again, we keep talking about this. We found another different way to win today, and I’m proud of our response after the lackluster start. Shoutout to Longwood, they’ve got a really good basketball team that’s going to win a lot of games this year. They were obviously a very game opponent for us. Just really proud of our team for persevering and Longwood is going to be really good this year.”
The win marked the fifth straight for ODU, which is off to its best start to a season since the 1998-99 campaign. That Monarchs squad went 6-0 as they defeated Wright State, Elon, Hampton, Charlotte, VMI, and UT-Chattanooga before suffering a narrow 63-61 loss to then-No. 3 North Carolina on Dec. 4, 1998, in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Down 41-34 at halftime following a slow start to the game, the Monarchs started to chip away at the Lancers’ (3-2) lead and opened the second half with an Adante’ Holiman three-pointer from the right wing. On the next possession, a steal by Bubu Benjamin led to a fastbreak layup for Zacch Wiggins and the Monarchs were back within two, 41-39 at the 18:56 mark.
LU’s Alphonzo Billups III countered with a three that put the visitors up by five, but ODU put together an 8-0 response as Kylan Howze scored a layup and Holiman knocked down two more triples that gave the Silver and Blue their first lead of the game, 47-44 with 17:05 to play.
Holiman hit his fourth triple of the second half and Benjamin finished on a fastbreak opportunity to make it a 54-48 ODU lead. With the Monarchs up 58-52 with just under 12 minutes on the clock, the Lancers overtook the home team with a 10-0 run capped off by four-straight free throws from TJ Robinson.
After another Billups long ball saw the Lancers go up by five, 67-62 at the 6:16 mark, Benjamin started to find his rhythm from beyond the arc. Following a 2-for-2 effort at the line by Holiman, Jared Turner swung a pass to Benjamin for a corner three from the left side. That put Old Dominion ahead, 70-69 with less than three minutes remaining.
Robinson then hit a jumper to give Longwood the lead again, but that would be the last time the Lancers would remain in front. Howze got to the charity stripe and converted both of his shots, Jotham Nweke followed with a 1-for-2 effort at the line, and Benjamin drained a deep ball from the top of the arc as the Monarchs created some separation, 76-71 with 1:26 to go.
Wiggins and Turner both grabbed some defensive rebounds down the stretch, and ODU’s pressure also forced the Lancers to commit a couple of bad passes in the final 12 seconds. After LU used its full timeout with seven seconds left, Turner was guarding Elijah Kelly on the inbound pass. Kelly was looking for Billups, but the ball hit the backboard as ODU gained possession. Benjamin lobbed a pass to Turner and Holiman held the ball as the final seconds ticked away for an ODU victory.
Three Monarchs finished in double figures, led by Wiggins with 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the field and a 6-for-8 clip at the free-throw line. The second-year guard from Greensboro, N.C. added six rebounds with five assists, two blocks, and two steals.
Benjamin was next in scoring, going 7-for-16 from the floor and 4-for-9 from the perimeter to finish with a season high 18 points. A team captain for the Monarchs, his final line also included five boards, two assists, two blocks, and one steal.
Holiman followed with 16 points after making 4-of-10 shots on the night, including 4-for-9 from long range, and all four of his free throws. Another team captain, he added three assists with one takeaway.
ODU shot a combined 25-for-60 (41.7%) on the night, went 11-for-30 (36.7%) from distance, and 19-for-26 (73.1%) at the line. The Monarchs outrebounded the Lancers, 42-36, and led in points in the paint (28-24) and off the bench (18-17).
Longwood jumped out to a 14-3 start to the game as the guests capitalized on 10 ODU turnovers in the first half.
“We didn’t start the first half as we expected, but we ended up staying together and that helped us throughout the game,” said Wiggins.
“Like we talk about all the time with turnovers, with us being so talented and trying to make the extra play instead of making the simple play. In the end it was just us being a little careless with the ball,” added Benjamin.
Asked what he said to his team at the break, Jones replied, “A lot, then a little. One of the things I’m proud of is we walked in that room, and they were talking already and they were saying the things that we were literally getting ready to say. So that’s a team that’s locked in, that’s a team that’s self-aware too. Some other teams would have been making excuses and pointing the finger everywhere else, but they were like ‘We have to get this together. We know we’re not doing what we’re supposed to do.’”
“So, for a coach, it’s great to hear. We’re all on the same page now, so now let’s just go out and do it.”
Up Next
Old Dominion will head west on I-64 for a midweek game at No. 6 Virginia next Tuesday, Nov. 17. The Monarchs and Cavaliers will have a 9 p.m. tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena with the matchup streamed on the ACC Network.