Strong start, finish power ODU to victory in city clash
Oliver, Curry score 17 each as Monarchs put away shorthanded Spartans at the line
NORFOLK — Reluctantly, Old Dominion made the short trip across town to Norfolk State on Wednesday for a game more than half a decade in the making.
The Monarchs might not want to wait so long next time.
A.J. Oliver and Malik Curry each scored 17 points, and ODU was dominant in the final minutes of an 80-66 victory over the Spartans at Echols Hall.
Playing on NSU’s campus for the first time since the 1968-69 season, but in front of a quiet crowd limited to 250 by COVID-19 restrictions, the Monarchs (2-1) opened up a one-point game with 11 straight points starting just under the six-minute mark to improve to 14-6 all-time in the series.
That came long after ODU opened the game with 11 straight points to bookend a win in the first meeting between the schools in three years.
“We knew we needed to match their energy,” said Monarchs coach Jeff Jones, who had grown tired of talking about the rivalry’s spotty history by game day. “We needed to create our own energy. I think we did that.
“Getting off to a fast start and finishing strong, that’s a pretty good combination.”
Daryl Anderson scored 17 points for the Spartans (2-1), who were outrebounded 40-29 and committed 12 turnovers.
NSU was playing without top
returning scorer Joe Bryant, who averaged 12 points per game last season, but remained unavailable with a minor thigh injury. Senior swingman Kashaun Hicks, who has averaged 12.5 points per game, sat by Bryant on the bench with an undisclosed injury.
“Credit to those guys for winning, but it’s disappointing when you can’t give them your best shot,” Spartans coach Robert Jones said.
After trailing by as many as 12 early in the second half, NSU rallied to pull to within 62-61 on Yoro Sidibe’s baseline jumper with 5:47 to play.
And then things quickly went sideways.
ODU sealed the deal when the Spartans went nearly five minutes without a field goal at the worst possible time. When the smoke cleared, all NSU could do was foul.
The Monarchs made 9 of 10 free throws in the final 1:45 to turn what had been anybody’s ballgame into what, on paper, looked like a laugher.
“I think our defense tightened up a little bit,” Jeff Jones said of the decisive stretch. “At both ends of the floor, we were really good on the boards.”
His counterpart, who this week repeated that he didn’t understand why the teams don’t play more often, placed the bulk of the blame on his team’s defense.
“We didn’t do a good job of just us rallying us to get a stop,” Robert Jones said.
The Spartans, after wins in Harrisonburg over James Madison and Radford to start the season, were looking to improve to 3-0 for the first time in program history.
ODU opened with a loss at Maryland and rebounded to defeat William & Mary at Chartway Arena.
Jeff Jones said his players had heard some of the back and forth over the NSU series, which seems natural to the Spartans, but makes little sense to ODU.
“They were aware of a lot of what was said and asked and all that,” he said. “And so, I’d say without a doubt they were excited to come in here and play, and they knew it was a quality opponent that was going to give us their best shot. And that’s what happened.”
Hampton will visit NSU on Monday, when the Monarchs visit James Madison.
NSU opened the second half with a dry spell, failing to convert a field-goal attempt for nearly the first five minutes in building a 53-39 deficit.
Down 11-0 early, the Spartans used a 12-3 run to pull to within 14-12 before ODU built a 34-24 lead with 5:54 before halftime.
After a pair of Austin Trice free throws in the final seconds, the Monarchs took a 42-37 lead into the break.
NSU, which plays in the mostly regional and historically Black MEAC, was hoping to prove itself to be on par with the Monarchs, who compete in expansive Conference USA.
It wasn’t exactly mission accomplished, but it was close.
“The way we prove something, to me, is a win, honestly,” Robert Jones said. “I think that maybe we proved something to some of the armchair quarterbacks that think that the gap is so big between the programs. I think we showed that it’s not.”