PENSACOLA, FL (WTKR)- The Sun Belt Tournament is underway and Tuesday's action made the immediate future a little bit more clear for the Old Dominion men's and women's basketball teams.
Jeff Jones and the Monarch men will face Texas State on Thursday in the tournament's second round in Pensacola, Florida. The Bobcats defeated Georgia State, 81-76, in first round action on Tuesday night, shooting 52 percent from the floor in the win.
Thursday's showdown will be a rematch of a thriller played by the two teams in San Marcos back on February 11. ODU triumphed, 70-68, on Imo Essien's buzzer-beating layup. Chaunce Jenkins led the way with 19 points, while Tyreek Scott-Grayson added 18 points. The Monarchs were without Mekhi Long for that contest, but he'll be on the court to help the silver and blue come Thursday.
Old Dominion, however, will be without senior Ben Stanley, who was lost for the season when he tore his ACL during the Monarchs' February 16 loss at James Madison. Stanley scored 12 points against Texas State during the regular season match-up. He averaged 9.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game before going down with his injury.
On the women's side, Old Dominion will take the floor on Wednesday against Georgia State in Pensacola. The Panthers took down South Alabama in Tuesday's first round, 59-44.
The Monarchs swept Georgia State in two regular season meetings, winning in Atlanta, 73-70, and coming back for a 60-54 victory in Norfolk. Brianna Jackson paced ODU with 18 points in just 15 minutes during the first meeting, leading four Monarchs in double figures. The Panthers held a ten point lead early in the second half but the silver and blue shot 67 percent in the third quarter to surge into the lead.
The second meeting saw Kaye Clark score 12 points to lead Delisha Milton-Jones and her squad. Amari Young added nine points and 15 rebounds. This time it was Georgia State catching fire in the second half, but the Monarchs got hot in the final five minutes to retake the lead and go on for the six point triumph.
Both the Monarch men and women enter the tournament in the top half of the Sun Belt. On the men's side, Old Dominion was picked to finish ninth in the preseason poll, but finished league play 11-7 to earn the number six seed. The women were picked second going into the campaign and finished 12-6 in the conference, grabbing the fifth seed after being part of a cluster in the hunt for the top spot with two weeks to go.
The ODU women and Georgia State tip off at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday afternoon, while the men meet Texas State at 6:00 PM on Thursday evening.
