(Courtesy: Eric Bohannon/ODU Sports)
MOBILE, Ala. — Mekhi Long hit one of two from the foul line with five seconds left and the Monarchs held off a last ditch shot as Old Dominion defeated South Alabama 66-64 in a key Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball matchup on Thursday night.
Chaunce Jenkins drove the lane and was fouled with 27 seconds left and drained two free throws to give ODU a 65-64 advantage. South Alabama’s Isaiah Moore tried to milk the clock and went for a layup that Dericko Williams swatted into the hands of Long with five seconds left.
Long was immediately fouled and went 1-of-2 for the 66-64 margin. Marshall Kearing grabbed the rebound of the second miss and found Greg Parham whose 35-foot shot bounced off the rim.
The Monarchs held a nine-point lead early in the second half as Bryce Baker drained a three-pointer for a 43-34 advantage with 16:41 left. South Alabama trimmed the lead to one on a pair of Parham free throws with 11:07 left and a 46-45 ODU lead.
ODU had another run as Charles Smith IV hit a three-pointer to give Old Dominion (12-9, 4-5) a 55-46 lead with 7:17 left, but like earlier in the half, South Alabama (8-13,2-7) responded with a run as Tyrell Jones and Parham drilled three-pointers on consecutive possessions to pull the hosts to 54-53 with 5:12 left.
From that point, the lead was never more than three points for either side. South Alabama did take a 62-61 lead on a pair of Jones free throws with 95 seconds left and again as Moore hit a driving layup with 35 seconds on the clock to set up the ending.
“It was an ugly game, 17 turnovers for us, but we scrapped. Sometimes, that can be the most important thing,” said ODU Head Coach Jeff Jones. “We been talking about grinding, it’s not easy and not for everyone, but if you want to be a good team you got to figure it out. This doesn’t automatically make us a good team, but we are one that’s working our butts off to become one.
Long closed the half playing “beat the buzzer” as he drained a fadeaway jumper on the baseline to put ODU up 34-29 at intermission. Jenkins paced ODU with 16 points, while Long had another double-double with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Williams had nine points to go with four rebounds and three blocked shots. Bryce Baker, who had a couple three-pointers in the first half, matched his season high with eight points. Imo Essien, playing his first action since Jan. 7, had four points and four rebounds in 20 minutes.
ODU now heads to Coastal Carolina for a 4 p.m. tip on Saturday afternoon.