NORFOLK, Va. — NORFOLK, Va. (WTKR) — At times, Old Dominion's performance on Tuesday night is exactly what Mike Jones is looking for. At other points, the head coach ready to get his team back in the film room to dissect all the mistakes.
It's better to have those lessons come in a win.
Behind 17 points from Sean Durugordon, ODU held off a scare from Randolph-Macon for a 71-55 win inside Chartway Arena.
"This is one of those games that you win and there's plenty of things we're going to have to improve upon," Jones said. "I am very happy that I believe that our team has taken steps forward each and every time we've stepped on the floor."
The silver and blue got off to a tremendous start, leading the Yellow Jackets 25-9 just 12 minutes into the game. Randolph-Macon responded by outscoring ODU 18-9 in the half's final 8:12 to get into the locker rooms down 34-27.
Out of halftime, the two teams traded shots back and forth until the visitors went on an 11-4 run to cut the deficit down to 52-47 with 9:47 to play.
"When you have some of the breakdowns that we had in the second half, that requires changes," Jones said. "And maybe more swift changes."
The adjustments seemed to work. Jones' held the Yellow Jackets to eight points the rest of the way and Durugordon scored 11 points over the final nine minutes.
"This is one of the first times he has played on a team where other guys can score the ball too," Jones said. "So he doesn't feel the burden. He had 17 on nine shots, so you talk about being efficient."
Starting point guard Jaden Johnson chipped in 13 points and played a game-high 37 minutes.
"Back-to-back wins is always a good thing," Johnson said. "Those wins are leading to good energy in the locker room and that's definitely showing up on the court."
It was an emotional game for both squads. Dubbed the Paul Webb Challenge, the two teams honoring their former head coach with patches on the players jerseys and a halftime ceremony for Webb's family and former players.
Paul Webb led the Yellow Jackets program for 19 seasons and ODU's for 10, amassing 511 wins in his college coaching career.
"I know how much Coach Webb meant to the history and the legacy of our program here and how much he means to the program at Randolph-Macon as well," Jones said. "To have his name on this game tonight, for us to play a very good game against a very good opponent, we're honored to have done that."
With the win, Old Dominion improves to 2-3 on the season. Next up is a trip to the Cayman Island Classic with Boston College up first on Sunday.
It's another chance for Jones to see if the lessons of a few bits of adversity are being learned.
"We're moving in the right direction, and we're now moving in the right direction with wins," Jones said. "As long as we keep building when we get to the Sun Belt season, I think I like where we are."
