NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- With Imo Essien and Ben Stanley on the bench, plenty of other Monarchs stepped up to fill the void, particularly Old Dominion's two leading scorers.
Tyreek Scott-Grayson scored 24 points and Chaunce Jenkins added 21 points as ODU snapped a two-game slide with a 70-58 win over Georgia State at Chartway Arena on Thursday night. It marks the Monarchs' first win on a Thursday in five tries this season.
Old Dominion took the 4-2 lead with 16:39 to play in the opening frame and would hold the advantage the rest of the way. The silver and blue led by as many as 17 points in the first half before the Panthers chipped away and trimmed it to 33-25 at the break.
Jeff Jones and company were able to hold Georgia State at arm's length for the rest of the contest, leading by double digits for the final 19:35 of the game and widening the gap to as many as 19 points.
The Monarchs shot 59 percent from the floor for the game and out-scored Georgia State in the paint, 40-20.
In the absence of Essien and Stanley, D'Angelo Stines, Bryce Baker and Jason Wade saw increased minutes. Baker scored eight points and pulled down five rebounds off the bench for the Monarchs, while Stines made his first career start, scoring four points and coming up with three steals. Wade chipped in five points and two steals in his most work of the season.
Jenkins scored 19 of his 21 points in the first half, while Scott-Grayson added nine rebounds to his stat line to help power to Monarchs to the win.
Essien continues to recover after collapsing due to shortness of breath in the first half of a January 7 win over Georgia Southern. Old Dominion announced on Thursday evening that Stanley will miss at least two weeks due to a left hand injury sustained during the team's loss to Marshall last Saturday.
Fans attending Thursday's game may have noticed something different, as Jones coached the entire game barefoot. The head coach does not wear shoes for one game each season to benefit Samaritans Feet, an organization that provides shoes to underprivileged youth worldwide.
Old Dominion improved to 11-8, 3-4 in the Sun Belt with Thursday's win and will host Appalachian State on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 7:00 PM at Chartway Arena.
