Old Dominion Erases 21-point Second-Half Deficit to Beat Marshall 82-81

Marshall led Old Dominion by as many as 21 points in the second half Friday, but the Monarchs battered the Thundering Herd on the inside down the stretch and came back for an 82-81 win in Norfolk, Virginia at ODU’s Chartway Arena.

Old Dominion (9-4, 5-2 Conference USA) outrebounded Marshall (9-5, 3-4 C-USA) by a wide margin — 50 to 28 — and owned a eye-popping 29 to 9 advantage on the offensive glass. ODU turned those second and sometimes third chances into 20 points and also held a 50 to 20 advantage over the Herd in points in the paint.

“They beat us up and got too many easy shots in the lane,” Marshall coach Dan D’Antoni said. “And when they missed, they still rebounded it and put a few back in. They bullied us up on the inside, and we’ve got to respond better. Then at the end I think we were 3 of 10 in the last three minutes of the game from the free throw line. You can’t do that.”

Marshall played well in the first half Friday, running out to a 40-28 lead at the break. When the second half started, the Herd was back at it and added its lead. MU was ahead 56-35 with more than 17 minutes to play before ODU outscored Marshall 47-25 the rest of the way.

Still, the Herd had its chances in the final minutes and seconds. MU was down six points with 2:55 to play before consecutive quick buckets by Taevion Kinsey and an Andrew Taylor 3-pointer put Marshall ahad 81-80 with 1:24 remaining, but those were the last points Marshall would score Friday.

ODU’s Kalu Ezikpe came free for a dunk to put the Monarchs back up 82-81 with 1:03 to play before both teams took turns missing shots in the final minute. Old Dominion missed the front end of a one-and-one in the final seconds, and the rebound went right to Marshall freshman David Early. Logan High’s all-time leading scorer had time to bring the ball down the court but his 35-footer just before the buzzer was off the mark and short.

“We’ve to rebound better,” D’Antoni said. “We’ve got to defend the basket a little better, and you can’t go 3 of 10 [at the foul line] in the last two and half, three minutes of the ballgame.”

Friday’s game was the third consecutive Marshall game the Herd has watched a sizable lead evaporate in the second half. The previous two times MU was able to fight through it for back-to-back wins two weeks ago at Florida International. On Friday, D’Antoni and Marshall were not so fortunate.

“That’s a concern, but that’s kind of the game we play,” D’Antoni said. “It’s been like that for the last seven years. You want to eliminate that as much as possible, but this was not so much typical of the others. Those other games people were missing shots and the games got a little ragged. This game was still pretty good but we gave them too many easy efforts on the inside. We’ll look at film. We’ve got to be a little more stout to win ballgames.”

Kinsey led Marshall on Friday with a game-high 22 points while freshman forward Obinna Anochili-Killen, a former all-state selection from Chapmanville High, had 16 points. Senior forward Mikel Beyers also hit double-digits in scoring with 13 points.

For ODU, Austin Trice led the way with 20 points and 13 rebounds while Trice finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Monarchs forward Joe Reese also chipped in with 16 points in the win.

Marshall and Old Dominion will meet again Saturday as part of Conference USA’s adapted schedule for the 2021 season. Tipoff between the Herd and Monarchs is set for 7 p.m. with the game broadcast streaming on ESPN+.

“[We] can’t mope,” D’Antoni said. “Just have to come out and hope they have their heads up and are playing hard. There are a few things we’ve got to do a little bit better to finish a ballgame off — one of them is free throws and the other couple things are decisions we make.

“It’s a tough road for us, but we’re right there. We just have to get over the hump.”