NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Old Dominion entered Thursday's contest on a three-game winning streak, but it did not take long for Appalachian State to cool the Monarchs off.
Mike Jones watched his team shoot 30.6 percent from the floor and ODU never held a lead as the Mountaineers controlled the game from start to finish in a 62-43 Monarch loss at Chartway Arena. The defeat drops Old Dominion's record to 8-10, 4-2 in the Sun Belt.
"Thank God we play again on Saturday," Jones said after the loss. "This was disappointing."
App State opened the game on a 14-1 run and had control from there. The Monarch defense clamped down midway through the first half, allowing the Mountaineers to score just six points in the final 11:05 of the opening frame, but their own offensive struggles continued as ODU went into the locker room trailing 29-18.
Cal Swanton-Rodger's tip-in early in the second half cut the App State advantage to nine points, but the Mountaineers answered 20 seconds later and led by double digits the rest of the way.
"We can't let this one affect us," freshman guard Jaden Johnson said. "We've been playing well, so we're going to continue on that trend and we look forward to Saturday and being able to get a win on Saturday, so we can't let this one get to us too much."
App State's CJ Huntley was the night's top performer by far, scoring 26 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. The Mountaineers closed the game by shooting 52 percent in the second half.
Robert Davis Jr. led Old Dominion with 11 points and seven rebounds, while Sean Durugordon added 10 points. Johnson chipped in eight points and seven boards.
The Monarchs look to get back on track Saturday when they host Georgia Southern at Chartway Arena. Tipoff is set for 3:30 PM.
"I'm looking forward to playing again very soon," Jones said of the quick turnaround. "If we could play tomorrow I would love that. We have such a good vibe about us right now, to get back to that as quickly as we possibly can, I would love the opportunity to do that."
ODU entered the night tied for first in the Sun Belt standings, having won four of its first five conference games.
