NORFOLK, VA (WTKR) — The Sun Belt openers for the Old Dominion men and women's basketball teams not going to plan for either squad.
Down to Arkansas State by as many as 14 points in the game and trailing by 13 with 4:04 left in the game, the Monarch men launched a blitzing comeback attempt that got them within two points on multiple occasions and down three points with :03.6 seconds left in the game. After a missed free throw, though, Jeff Jones' unable to get a shot up to beat the buzzer, falling to the Red Wolves 60-57.
Tyreek Scott-Grayson led ODU with 16 points, Chaunce Jenkins pouring in 12 off the bench. D'Angelo Stines providing a late spark, hitting two threes in the final four minutes to give the Monarchs a chance.
After the game, Jones saying his team has to figure out how to start games on a better note. ODU trailed 29-16 at the break and were just 5-27 from the field in the first 20 minutes.
"We dug our in a hole and we came up short," Jones said. "The fact we came back, you play the game to win and not to play it close. That's the bottom line."
ODU is back at home Saturday against Louisiana, the team voted in the preseason as favorites to win the Sun Belt.
In Boone, North Carolina, the Monarch women trailed by six at halftime but could not hold Appalachian State back from a torrent second half. The Mountaineers outscored ODU 44-24 in third and fourth quarter to cruise to an 81-55 win.
Makayla Dickens led the way for Delisha-Milton Jones' squad with 25 points in the game, a season-high for the Princess Anne product.
The Monarchs stay on the road for it's next contest, heading to Harrisonburg to face James Madison.
