MBB: Men’s Basketball Drops Home Contest to Old Dominion
Jan. 29, 2025
Contact: Jacob Plecker (pl*******@ap******.edu)
Box Score: Attached
BOONE, N.C. – Using a pair of Alonzo Dodd free throws to tie the contest at 71 points apiece with two minutes to play, the App State Mountaineers (12-9, 6-3 SBC) couldn’t get the stops they needed to close out a tight game as they fell to the Old Dominion Monarchs (10-12, 6-4 SBC) 78-77 on Wednesday at the Holmes Center. Crucial missed App State free throws late helped the Monarchs pull it out in Boone.
Old Dominion, a team that came in with the Sun Belt’s worst team 3-point field goal percentage, hurt the Mountaineers on several occasions from deep in the game, drilling nine 3-pointers at a 42 percent clip. It was the first time since Nov. 4 against Miami (Ohio) that the Mountaineers have allowed a team to shoot at least 40 percent against it. ODU saw two players, Robert Davis Jr. and Sean Durugordon, make at least three 3-pointers in the game.
It was a tightly contested game all night as the lead changed hands nine times and was tied seven times. App State led by as much as 12 points in the first half, but a strong close to the opening half and a solid start to the second half helped the Monarchs pull themselves back into it. Offensively, the Mountaineers tallied 77 points, their most in a game since Jan. 11, and saw three players reach double figures in Myles Tate, Jalil Beaubrun and Dodd.
How it Happened
Playing at home for the first time in 18 days, App State started the scoring as CJ Huntley muscled up a shot over his defender to find the bottom of the net. The Mountaineers forced a stop on the other end and quickly made the score 4-0 after Beaubrun recorded his first points of the contest.
Donovan Raymond put ODU on the scoreboard for the first time, but the Mountaineers continued their hot start from the field as Tate and Huntley each buried shots to make it 9-2 by the first media break. Michael Marcus Jr., off a pass from Tate, drilled a three, and App State led by nine before most Mountaineer fans had found their seats.
App State ran their lead to 13 points by the under-12 timeout as its defense and the large App State crowd had the Monarchs rattled to open the contest. Through the first eight minutes of play, ODU missed all but three of its first 11 shot attempts. The 16-4 Mountaineer run finally came to a close with a Jaden Johnson bucket at the 12:43 mark of the first half.
After Johnson’s basket, the Monarchs began to find a bit of rhythm and slowly crawled their way back into the game. ODU cut its lead down just five by the 10:11 mark and despite a Beaubrun dunk, the Monarchs trimmed the Mountaineer advantage down to three with eight minutes to go. A Davis Jr. and-one chance made it a two-point game, but Dodd extinguished the Monarch’s flame with a three to push the Mountaineers back ahead five with 7:58 to play.
A Tate 3-pointer sent the Mountaineers back ahead by six before the under-eight break and the Mountaineers caught fire over the next three minutes. An ODU and-one opportunity quieted the crowd for a moment, but Tate and Dodd combined to score five straight points to bring App Nation right back to its feet as App State soared ahead by 10 points again with four minutes to go.
Down 33-23 with 3:16 to play, ODU made a run before halftime to trim its deficit back down to five by the buzzer. Durugordon scored each of the Monarchs’ next six points to bring their deficit down to eight with 59 seconds to go. Then, Dani Pounds found himself open at the top of the key and sunk a trey to make it a five-point game as the clock hit zeroes.
The Mountaineers drilled six first-half 3-pointers against the Monarchs on 14 attempts and shot 52 percent overall. Tate led all scorers in the first stanza with 15, but the solid final three minutes of play from ODU helped make it a tight contest as play entered the second half.
Continuing its strong play to close the half, the Monarchs opened the second half on a 15-9 run to take a one-point lead by the 15:48 mark. ODU rained home four 3-pointers to open the half, besting the mark they had in the first half (three).
Durugordon’s pair of free throws at the 13:52 mark gave the Monarchs a four-point lead, their largest of the game. Neither team led by more than four points for the final 14 minutes of the game. Marcus Jr.’s effort on the offensive glass resulted in two free throws to make it a two-point game, but Davis Jr. answered with a tough shot in the lane to bring it back to a four-point game as play continued.
Dodd’s 3-point basket just before the under-12 break brought the score back within one point. It was Dodd’s second three of the game. ODU found the basket yet again, but Beaubrun’s strength down low resulted in an and-one chance for App State to tie the game at 55 with 10 minutes to go.
App State went ahead by two points thanks to a floater by Dodd, but the Monarchs again retaliated with a Durugordon basket plus the harm to reclaim the lead. Unphazed by ODU’s spurt, Luke Wilson muscled his way into the paint and finished through his defender to put the Mountaineers back ahead 60-59 by the under-eight timeout.
With the score tied at 60 after Pounds converted one of two freebies, App State scored seven of the game’s next 10 points to claim its largest lead of the final half at four points. Huntley found himself free and slammed home a dunk before Dodd and Tate hit baskets to put the momentum back in favor of App State with 5:33 to play.
Needing an answer, the Monarchs turned to Davis Jr., who converted a mid-range jumper to put the Monarchs back up 68-67 with 4:06 to go. Beaubrun helped the Mountaineers reclaim the lead, but another Durugordon three, his 24th points of the contest, shot the Monarchs back in front by two as play neared its end.
Down two points, Dodd raced toward the paint and got fouled, resulting in two free throws to tie the game at 71 apiece with two minutes to go. ODU went back ahead 73-71 with a basket, but Beaubrun’s free throw closed the gap back to one with 80 seconds left.
App State forced a stop on the other end and turned back to Tate to try and go ahead late. Tate’s aggressiveness paid off with a foul, but the 75 percent free-throw shooter missed both chances to put the Mountaineers ahead and ODU made four straight freebies to put App State away. Tate did hit a half-court shot to make the final score 77-78, but it was too little too late for App State on Wednesday.
Top Performers
For the 12th straight game, Myles Tate recorded a double-figure outing, scoring 23 points, his ninth 20-point game this year. His 12 straight double-digit scoring games is the longest streak by a Mountaineer since Adrian Delph in the 2021-22 season. Alonzo Dodd followed right behind Tate with 16, his most points against a Division I opponent this season. Dodd was efficient with his shot and picked his spots well, making five of his eight attempts. Jalil Beaubrun was the third Mountaineer in double figures with 14, his seventh double-digit scoring game since Dec. 20.
Up Next
App State is set to continue its three-game homestand on Saturday with the Georgia State Panthers. Saturday’s contest is a part of a doubleheader with the women’s team and one ticket gets the ticket holder into both games. The Men are set to tip off at 1 p.m. and the contest can be streamed on ESPN+.
The 2024-25 men’s basketball season is presented by Foscoe Companies.
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