Mike Jones Gets First Win As ODU Men’s Basketball Coach As Monarchs Hold Off UMES, 73-71

By Harry Minium

NORFOLK, Va. – It wasn’t pretty and it was way too close for comfort, but Mike Jones finally got his first win as Old Dominion’s head men’s basketball coach Friday night.

ODU got 23 points from Devin Ceaser and survived a late Maryland Eastern Shore rally to hold off the Hawks, 73-71, before a cheering crowd of 5,300 at Chartway Arena.

Jones, an ODU alumnus, watched in frustration as his Monarchs fell to Buffalo at home in his Monarch debut, then lost in the No. 10 in Arizona and in Radford.

“It feels great,” Jones said when asked how it felt to win his first game. “But to be honest, I didn’t think it would take so long to get it.

“I’m proud that we were able to get this one. Call it beautiful or ugly or whatever you want to call it. But it’s a win and I’m proud that we were finally able to get this out of the way so we can work on getting more.”

Ceaser, who added two assists, four steals and two blocked shots in 30 minutes of playing time, grew up in Waldorf, Maryland, and often played against DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Maryland when Jones coached there.

“This means a lot,” Ceasar said. “I’ve been playing against coach Jones since maybe 2017. So finally, to actually play for him and then contribute to helping him get his first win at his alma mater, it means so much to me.

“I mean, I can’t even say how much it means.”

ODU did something Friday it hadn’t done before – the Monarchs got off to a good start. And in a game that went down to the last shot, that quick start could have been the difference between winning and losing.

Caelum Swanton-Rodger, the 7-foot transfer from Maryland, had back-to-back dunks to lead ODU to an 8-0 lead.

Swanton-Rodger had by far his most efficient game for ODU with six points, 14 rebounds, four blocked shots, two assists and no turnovers in 28 minutes.

ODU led by nine, 32-23, after two Sean Durugordon free throws with 6:08 left in the first half. But UMES (1-4) tied it back up and ODU led at the half, 41-38, on a Ceaser jumper.

UMES then served up that it wasn’t going to go away easily, opening the second half with a 7-0 run.

ODU led by five almost nine minutes into the second half. But then Hassan Perkins made a three-point shot after Robert Davis, Jr. hit the floor after apparently twisting his ankle, then followed with a jump shot to tie the game at 58-all with 10:57 left.

Davis was out just minutes after being checked out by athletic trainer Jason Mitchell.

ODU led by three points when RJ Blakney put in a rolling scoop shot off a nice assist from Ceasar to build the lead to five with 6:42 left.

Ceaser made it 70-64 with 4:34 left on a pullup jumper, and after a UMES miss, Davis made a fast break layup that built the lead to eight with 3:47 left.

But with 54.9 seconds left, Ketron Shaw made a pair of foul shots that trimmed the lead to 73-71. Shaw, a transfer from Winston-Salem State, led UMES with 30 points while playing all 40 minutes.

Then, with four seconds left, UMES forward Evan Johnson attempted a three-pointer that would have given the Hawks the lead, but it rolled off the rim and Blakney rebounded.

Blakney was immediately fouled, missing the front end of a one-and-one and UMES forward Christopher Flippin pouncing. But with no timeouts left, UMES couldn’t get off one last shot.

Blakney didn’t play as much as usual as Jones said he didn’t have a good game.

“RJ had a huge rebound and a huge defensive effort at the end of the game,” Jones said. “He stepped up big.

“He hadn’t had a great game and I’m sure he was over there (ticked) off at me because he didn’t play anymore. But when he went on the floor, he did what his team needed to do for us to win.

Durugordon had 15 points for ODU and Davis 10 points and four assists. Blakney added seven points and five rebounds.

Jones said he was blown away by the crowd support at Friday’s game given ODU’s 0-3 start.

“Monarch Nation is incredible,” he said. “There have been some tough times here since the season started. It hasn’t been anything that any of us expected. And they showed up and showed tonight.

“We appreciate them and want them to know that our guys live off their energy.”

The Monarchs next play Tuesday, Nov. 19, against Randolph-Macon in a game called the Paul Webb Challenge to honor the former longtime basketball coach.

Webb coached 19 years at Randolph-Macon, now a Division III school, before moving on to ODU, which he led into Division I. He led the Monarchs to postseason play in nine of his 10 seasons.

Webb’s family and his former players from both ODU and RMC will participate in a halftime ceremony in honor of the former coach.

“I only met Paul Webb once, but I know about Paul Webb and what a great coach he was,” Jones said. “Tuesday will be a special game for both Randolph-Macon and ODU.

“I’m so happy to be a part of it.”