NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- It wasn't the prettiest win Old Dominion will pick up this season, but the Monarchs did enough on Wednesday night.
Kenyon Giles' last-second three-point attempt was off the mark as time expired as ODU held off Radford for a 69-68 win at Chartway Arena. The victory evens up the silver and blue's record at 3-3.
"I told the guys that it's real likely we're going to be in a lot of games like that," head coach Jeff Jones said after the win. "You've got to find a way to win and we've really proven twice that it's not always pretty."
The first half saw Old Dominion struggle from the floor, shooting just 27 percent in the first 20 minutes, but strong free throw shooting kept the Monarchs right there as they only trailed by one at the half, 32-31. Jones and company would erase an 11 point deficit in the opening frame.
The Highlanders were able to hold the lead for the early portion of the second half, but ODU finally broke through. Jenkins connected on a three-pointer at the 9:00 mark of the second half to put the Monarchs in front, 53-50. Radford, however, had some left in the tank, clawing back and re-taking the advantage on a Giles triple with 6:34 remaining.
The silver and blue had an answer, as Tyrone Williams knocked down two clutch free throws with 3:38 to play, pushing the Monarchs back in front, 63-62, and a Williams lay-up 27 seconds later extended the lead to three.
ODU would swell the advantage to five, but the Highlanders responded. With Old Dominion leading, 69-65, DaQuan Smith nailed three of his game-high 21 points to trim the gap to just one with 39 seconds to play.
Things would all come down to the final six seconds, as Jenkins missed the front end of a one-and-one to leave the door open for Radford. That set up Giles' final heave that did not fall.
"Confident, fearless and we're resilient," Jenkins said of his team after the victory. "We know we're going to have games where stuff goes bad, we're not putting the ball in the basket, the other team might be on fire or something like that, but we stay resilient, stay locked in and keep going."
The win comes three days after another thrilling victory at Chartway Arena that saw Old Dominion hold off Drexel, 68-61, in overtime.
The Monarchs knocked down 17 of their 20 free throw attempts, a huge difference in a one-point win. They also forced 15 Highlander turnovers, scoring 16 points off those take-aways.
Jenkins scored a team-high 20 points, while adding five assists and four blocks. Vasean Allette scored 14 points and pulled down six rebounds.
Old Dominion is back in action Saturday when the Monarchs hit the road to Northeastern for a 2:00 PM tipoff.
