NORFOLK, Va. (WTKR) — Just two days after breaking a six-game losing streak in a dominant performance against Marshall, Old Dominion fell flat against the Sun Belt's lone winless team.
Louisiana-Monroe controlled ODU for nearly the entire game, handing the Monarchs an 80-73 loss at Chartway Arena.
"That was obviously a very disappointing result, but even more so, it was a very disappointing performance," ODU interim coach Kieran Donohue said.
The game started getting out of hand in the first half when ULM took an 11-point lead with 6:58 to play in the frame. After the silver and blue got it down to eight, Tyreese Walton sank a three at the halftime buzzer to make it a 35-24 advantage.
The opening 20 minutes saw Old Dominion go just 8-28 from the floor.
"ULM right from the start was the hungrier team, the team that played harder, the team that wanted it more and was willing to be able to find a way to go get it," Donohue said.
The deficit got as high as 16 in the second half before ODU would again put together a rally. An 8-0 run at 9:11 to play in the game got the lead down to 54-46, highlighted by a pair of threes from RJ Blakney and Chaunce Jenkins.
The Monarchs, however, could never work the lead below eight points. Walton and Tyreke Locure, who put up a team-high 20 points, continuously made crucial shots to hold ODU at bay.
The Warhawks dominated the rebounding category with a 44-21 margin.
"In this conference, it takes grit and it takes a great amount of effort," said ODU guard Imo Essien. "It doesn't matter who we played, tonight we didn't have those two things."
Jenkins posted 20 points for the silver and blue, with Vasean Allette contributed 17 points and Blakney chipped in 13.
Old Dominion shots 42.6 percent from the floor for the game.
"At various points throughout the game, when it was hard, we didn't respond the appropriate way," Donohue said. "We weren't able to pick our heads up and focus on the next play."
The loss drops the Monarchs to 5-14 and just 1-6 in the Sun Belt schedule. Their four-game homestand continues on Wednesday with James Madison (17-2) coming to Norfolk. It's the second time the two will play at Chartway Arena this season after the two faced off in a non-conference game in December. The Dukes took an 84-69 win in that meeting.
