BOONE, NC (WTKR)- Back on January 16, Appalachian State took down Old Dominion in one of the Monarchs' roughest showings of the season. Wednesday night, ODU got some revenge.
Sean Durugordon scored 25 points and the silver and blue erased as 12-point first half deficit to nip the Mountaineers on the road, 78-77. The victory improved Old Dominion's record to 10-12, 6-4 in the Sun Belt, and 4-0 in road conference games.
App State looked like it might enforce a similar result as the last time these two teams faced off early in the game, opening the contest on a 16-4 run. This time, however, the Monarchs had an answer, responding with a 12-2 spurt of their own to close the gap to 18-16 and trailed, 38-33, at the half.
Old Dominion took it's first lead of the game with 15:48 remaining in the game when Durugordon knocked down a three-pointer to give the silver and blue a 48-47 advantage and neither team would lead by more than four points the rest of the way. Appalachian State took the lead back with 9:58 left on the clock on Alonzo Dodd's hookshot, 57-55, but four straight points by Durugordon pushed the Monarchs back in front.
The two teams would be tied at 71 with less than two minutes to play when Cal Swanton-Rodger broke free on a give-and-go and converted a lay-up to give ODU the lead for good at the 1:48 mark. Mike Jones would watch his team hit its free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory.
The silver and blue shot 56 percent in the second half to help fuel the victory and won the battle of the boards, 35-30.
Durugordon added 12 rebounds to his 25 points and Robert Davis Jr. chipped in 19 points. R.J. Blakney scored seven points and pulled down eight boards, while Jaden Johnson distributed seven assists.
Old Dominion returns to the court Saturday when it visits James Madison in Harrisonburg. Tipoff is set for 4:00 PM. The Dukes downed the Monarchs on January 18, 74-60.
