NORFOLK, Va. – It wasn’t pretty, and it was far too close for comfort, but Mike Jones finally got his first victory as Old Dominion’s head men’s basketball coach Friday night.
ODU got 23 points from Devin Ceasar, and survived a late Maryland Eastern Shore rally, to hold off the Hawks, 73-71, before a jubilant crowd of 5,300 at Chartway Arena.
Jones, an ODU alumnus, watched in frustration as his Monarchs fell to Buffalo at home in his Monarch debut, and then lost at No. 10 Arizona and at Radford.
“It feels great,” Jones said when asked how it felt to win his first game. “But to be honest, I didn’t think it would take this long to get it.
“I’m proud of the fact that we were able to get this one. Call it pretty or ugly or whatever you want to call it. But it’s a win and I’m proud we were finally able to get this out of the way so we can work on getting more.”
Ceaser, who added two assists, four steals and two blocked shots in 30 minutes of playing time, grew up in Waldorf, Maryland, and often played against DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Maryland when Jones coached there.
“This means a lot,” Ceasar said. “I’ve been playing against coach Jones since maybe 2017. So finally, to actually play for him, and then contribute to help him get his first win at his alma mater, it means so much to me.
“I mean, I can’t even speak on how much it means.”
ODU did something Friday it had not done before – the Monarchs got off to a good start. And in a game that went down to the final shot, that fast start could have been the difference between winning and losing.
Caelum Swanton-Rodger, the 7-foot transfer from Maryland, had back-to-back dunks to lead ODU to an 8-0 lead. Swanton-Rodger had by far his most effective game for ODU with six points, 14 rebounds, four blocked shots, two assists and no turnovers in 28 minutes.
ODU led by nine, 32-23, on two Sean Durugordon free throws with 6:08 to go in the first half. But UMES (1-4) tied it up again and ODU led at the half, 41-38, on a Ceaser jump shot.
UMES then served that it would not go away easily, opening the second half with a 7-0 run.
ODU led by five nearly nine minutes into the second half. But then Hassan Perkins made a three-point shot, after Robert Davis Jr., hit the floor after apparently twisting his ankle, and then followed up with a jump shot to tie the score at 58-all with 10:57 left.
Davis was out only a few minutes after being checked out by athletic trainer Jason Mitchell.
ODU led by three points when R.J. Blakney put in a rolling scoop shot, on a nice assist from Ceasar, to build the lead to five with 6:42 left.
Ceaser made it 70-64 with 4:34 left on a pullup jumper, and after a UMES miss, Davis made a fast-break layup that built the lead to eight with 3:47 left.
But with 54.9 seconds left, Ketron Shaw made a pair of foul shots that trimmed the lead to 73-71. Shaw, a transfer from Winston-Salem State, led UMES with 30 points while playing all 40 minutes.
Then, with four seconds left, UMES forward Evan Johnson attempted a three-pointer that would have given the Hawks the lead, however, it rolled off the rim and Blakney rebounded.
Blakney was immediately fouled, missed the front end of a one-and-one and UMES forward Christopher Flippin rebounded. But with no timeouts left, UMES could not get off a final shot.
Blakney did not play as much as usual, as Jones said he was not having a good game.
“R.J. had a huge rebound and a huge defensive assignment at the end of the game,” Jones said. “He stepped up big time.
“He hadn’t been having a great game and I’m sure he was over there (ticked) off at me because he wasn’t playing more. But when he went to the floor, he did what his team needed to do for us to win.”
Durugordon had 15 points for ODU and Davis 10 points and four assists. Blakney added seven points and five rebounds. Jones said he was blown away by the crowd support at Friday’s game given ODU’s 0-3 start.
“Monarch Nation is unbelievable,” he said. “There have been some rough times here since the season started. It’s been nothing like any of us expected it to be. And they showed up and showed out tonight.
“We appreciate them and want them to know our guys feed off their energy.”
The Monarchs next play on Tuesday, Nov. 19, against Randolph-Macon in a game billed as the Paul Webb Challenge to honor the former long-time basketball coach.
Webb coached 19 years at Randolph-Macon, now a Division III school, before moving on to ODU, which he led into Division I. He led the Monarchs to postseason play in nine of his 10 seasons.
Webb’s family and his former players from both ODU and RMC will take part in a halftime ceremony honoring the former coach.
“I only met Paul Webb once, but I know about Paul Webb and what a great coach he was,” Jones said. “Tuesday will be a special game for both Randolph-Macon and ODU.
“I’m so happy to be a part of it.”
