Monarchs let lead slip away again as drought is up to six
Maintaining leads has become a more pressing issue for Old Dominion lately.
Two days after blowing a 20-point lead in a loss at Georgia State, the Monarchs let an eightpoint second-half advantage slip away in a 79-75 loss to Coastal Carolina on Saturday in Conway, South Carolina.
Kylan Blackmon and Jacob Meyer scored 15 points each to lead a balanced attack for the Chanticleers (5-11, 2-3 Sun Belt), who snapped a two-game skid. Ginika Ojiako (14 points, 11 rebounds), Braeden MacVicar (13) and Kevin Easley Jr. (10) also reached double figures.
Chaunce Jenkins scored 24 points to pace the Monarchs (4-13, 0-5), who have dropped six straight. It was Jenkins’ second-highest point total of the season. He also had five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Vasean Allette added 19 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals for ODU, while Devin Ceaser had 10 points.
Coastal Carolina led almost the entire first half and by as many as 10 points, but the Monarchs went on an 18-6 run — capped by an Allette 3-pointer — that put them ahead 35-33 with 22 seconds left in the half.
ODU led 35-34 at halftime and started the second half with a 12-5 surge to take a 47-39 advantage with 16:41 left. R.J. Blakney had five of his seven points during that run.
The Chanticleers answered with an 11-3 flurry that tied the game at 50 with 13:20 left. The game stayed close until Meyer’s 3-pointer, Easley’s layup and Henry Abraham’s 3-pointer put Coastal Carolina ahead 65-54 with 7:39 to go.
The Monarchs weren’t finished, though. They went on a 20-10 run to get within one at 75-74 on Tyrone Williams’ two free throws with 33 seconds left.
After Meyer made one of two free throws to give Coastal Carolina a 76-74 lead, Jenkins drew a foul and went to the line with a chance to tie it with 16 seconds left. He made the first and missed the second, though, to make it 76-75.
Blackmon added a free throw with 12 seconds left to make it 77-75, ODU’s Bryce Baker missed an open look at a possible game-winning 3-pointer with 2 seconds to go, and MacVicar added two more free throws for the final margin.
The Monarchs finished a fourgame road trip and will host Marshall at 7 p.m. Thursday in the first of four straight home games.