PENSACOLA, FL (WTKR)- Old Dominion's previous history in the Sun Belt Tournament had been short, but not all that sweet. Wednesday night saw the Monarchs turn the tide a bit with a little history.
Sean Durugordon and Cal Swanton-Rodger both posted double-doubles and ODU played some of its best defense of the year, downing Louisiana, 67-49, Wednesday in the second round of the Sun Belt Tournament. It marked the program's first ever Sun Belt Tournament game win and its first postseason victory since 2019.
"This is what all these young men dream about," head coach Mike Jones said after the win. "This is what I've dreamt about, coaching in it. I think in the second half, we were able to take a deep breath at halftime and talk about, 'hey, this is just a reminder that if we don't get this done, we're done," and I think our guys responded."
The Ragin' Cajuns and Monarchs played a close first half. Robert Davis Jr. connected on back-to-back three-pointers, giving the silver and blue a 23-19 lead with 6:38 to play in the opening frame and ODU went into the locker room with a 29-23 advantage.
Louisiana would claw back and tie the game at 38-38 with 14:03 remaining, but Davis Jr. found Swanton-Rodger for a dunk 12 seconds later to put the Monarchs back in front and they would never relinquish the lead. Durugordon scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half to help fuel the silver and blue and a 10-0 run late in the game turned the contest into a blowout as Old Dominion cruised to the win.
Jones watched his team hold the Cajuns to just 35 percent shooting from the field and Louisiana only connected on two three-pointers during Wednesday night's contest. ODU also won the rebounding battle convincingly, 43-24, and was once again strong from the free throw line, knocking down 10 of its 12 attempts from the stripe.
Durugordon ended his night with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Swanton-Rodger posted a career-high 18 points to go along with his 10 boards. Davis Jr. added 10 points and Jaden Johnson dished out nine assists.
The victory gives the Monarchs two wins over Louisiana this season, as they topped the Ragin' Cajuns in Lafayette, 71-60, back in January.
Next up for the number 10 seed Old Dominion is seventh seeded Texas State. The Monarchs took down the Bobcats, 75-64, last month in Norfolk, though TSU has been ODU's kryptonite in the Sun Belt Tournament, ending the silver and blue's season in the event each of the last two years. Tip-off for tomorrow's third round game is set for 8:30 PM Eastern.
