MOBILE, Al. — MOBILE, Al. (WTKR) — Mike Jones felt his Old Dominion squad had gotten some momentum in the program's win over Southern Miss last weekend, but wanted to see if they could carry them into the road swing against Louisiana and South Alabama.
As the Monarchs return to Norfolk, the vibes appear to be higher than at any point this season.
Using scoring outbursts from Sean Durugordon and Robert Davis Jr., ODU knocked off the Sun Belt leading Jaguars on Saturday in a 71-63 overtime win to sweep their first road weekend of the conference season.
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From the jump, Davis Jr. showed himself to be locked in a dangerous shooting zone. The sophomore hit five three-point shots in the opening 20 minutes, scoring 15 of his 25 points in the first half. ODU went into the half trailing 39-33.
Out of the locker rooms, the Monarchs went on a quick 7-0 run to take a one-point lead less than three minutes into the second half. From that point, neither team led by more than three points for the remaining 17:36 of the half.
With the Jaguars up 63-61 in the final minute, Davis Jr. missed a three for the lead but Durugordon skied in for the offensive rebound and stick back to tie the game at 63-63. Neither team could get a shot to fall on respective possessions, forcing overtime.
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ODU kicked its defense into high gear in that extra five minutes, holding USA scoreless in the final five minutes with 0-of-8 shooting. Durugordon again would get the momentum back for the silver and blue on a putback layup at the 4:19, scoring 16 of his 27 points in the second half and overtime. Davis Jr. would hit a layup with 2:33 left to make it 68-63 and Durugordon would ice the game with three free throws.
Jones' squad outrebounded the Jaguars 46-34 despite playing without Cal Swanton-Rodger. Dani Pounds and Jaden Johnson each chipped in seven points with Johnson also dishing out eight assists in the game.
Old Dominion improves to 8-9 on the season and is tied atop the Sun Belt standings with a 4-1 conference record. The Monarchs continue to play some of their best basketball of the season, having won five of their last six games.
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They'll head back to Hampton Roads on Thursday with Appalachian State coming to Chartway Arena at 7:00 PM.