NORFOLK, Va. (WTKR) — After weeks of adversity both on and off the floor, Old Dominion looked to have some positive vibes to build on in its Sun Belt opener.
Then South Alabama unleashed a stunning comeback inside Chartway Arena. After building a 22-point lead, the Monarchs collapsing in a stunning 61-59 loss to the Jaguars.
The Monarchs grabbed a 49-27 lead with 14:08 to play in the game, but the Jaguars went on a 34-10 run to complete the comeback, capped off by an Isiah Gaiter bucket with :09 left.
"Right now this one stings a lot," said ODU interim head coach Kieran Donohue. "It was at home, we played very well, it was right there for us to take. And it just sort of chipped away and chipped away."
ODU took a 36-22 lead into the locker rooms at halftime and came out in the second half with much of the same success.
South Alabama, however, caught fire midway through the frame. The Jagaurs shootings 6-of-10 from three in the second half and going 14-of-27 from the floor to storm its way back to a win.
"There shots started falling and ours didn't," said Jason Wade. "And that's when you got to find that toughness and dig deep. That's a trait we have learn, I don't think we've got that yet. I have faith that we'll be able to do that."
Vasean Allette led the way for ODU with 15 points, while RJ Blakney scored 12 points.
Donohue, who is coaching in place of Jeff Jones who is recovering from heart attack, saying there's optimism to build with from the first 20 minutes.
“Our challenge now is getting our players to understand that we need to learn from the mistakes which didn’t allow us to take the victory today," Donohue said, "but to be more consistently the team we were in the first half.”
ODU (4-9) has now lost six of its last seven, winning just one game in the month of December. The Monarchs now take the show on the road with four straight games away from Chartway Arena. That stretch begins on Thursday at Troy.
