HONOLULU, HI (WTKR)- Old Dominion had not lost five straight games since the fall of 2019. The Monarchs weren't about to let that happen now.
Vasean Allette led four ODU scorers in double figures with 24 points as the silver and blue took down Temple, 78-63, in the consolation bracket of the Diamond Head Classic on Friday. The victory halted Old Dominion's losing streak at four games and improved its record to 4-7.
It was back and forth for most of the first half, but the end of the frame saw the Monarchs take control. Chaunce Jenkins made a lay-up that gave ODU the 26-25 lead with 3:45 to play and that would turn out to put the squad ahead for good. A 7-0 run gave the Monarchs some cushion and they went into the locker room up 34-31.
A 10-2 spurt to open the second half swelled the Old Dominion advantage to 11 points early in the stanza and every time the Owls went on a run, the Monarchs seemed to have an answer. Temple would draw to within three points with 12:08 remaining, but a quick burst put ODU back up by nine. After seeing their lead trimmed to four with 6:42 to play, another surge gave the Monarchs a 10 point cushion and they held the Owls at arm's length the rest of the way.
Allette's 24 points were a game-high, the second straight night he led Old Dominion. The freshman guard also added eight rebounds. Jenkins added 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists, with Tyrone Williams and R.J. Blakney scoring 11 points each. Williams would pull down eight boards as well.
The Monarchs put together a much better showing on the glass Friday night, out-rebounding Temple, 42-33. They also dominated in points in the paint, 44-18. ODU shot 55 percent in the second half and 50 percent for the game.
The victory marked the first at the head of the bench for interim head coach Kieran Donohue, who is filling in for Jeff Jones as the head coach continues to recover from a heart attack he suffered Wednesday evening.
Old Dominion wraps up the Diamond Head Classic on Sunday against either UMass or Portland. Tipoff will be either 1:30 PM or 3:30 PM Eastern.
