NORFOLK — It was everything the masses could’ve wanted.
It was one miss from adding “and then some.”
LJ Thomas scored 20 points and Old Dominion survived a late scare Tuesday in a thrilling 60-57 win over crosstown rival Norfolk State before an announced crowd of 7,951 at Chartway Arena.
ODU scored the game’s final three points — but none over the last minute and a half — and could only exhale when Anthony McComb’s 3-point shot from the left wing sailed wide right just before the final horn.
Most of the crowd, which was expected to be one of the arena’s largest in recent history, expressed a mixture of appreciation and relief.
“Great atmosphere. That was unbelievable,” said second-year Monarchs coach Mike Jones, a former star guard at the school.
“A lot of dreams that I’ve had about coming back here, that’s what that’s supposed to look like.”
The Monarchs (2-1) won their sixth straight and their 16th in 22 games in the series, which dates back to 1965 but had been dormant for nearly three calendar years.
KC Shaw added 16 points for ODU, which shot 41% from the field to the Spartans’ 38%.
The Monarchs won despite making just 4 of 24 from 3-point range.
Elijah Jamison led NSU (2-2) with 14 points.
ODU’s Zacch Wiggins, defended by NSU’s Jaquel Morris, shoots for two during Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, night’s game at ODU. (Stephen M. Katz / The Virginian-Pilot)
McComb’s would-be heroics came after the Spartans, trailing by the final margin, called a timeout with the ball in the half-court and 15 seconds left.
ODU used 7-footer Caelum Swanton-Rodger to trap the inbound pass in the corner and locked down the perimeter, forcing McComb into a contested buzzer-beater that bounded off the right side of the backboard and into the hands of Thomas.
“As time was running down, they found me, and I was just trying to get a shot up,” McComb said. “It wasn’t the best shot, but I was trying to get a shot up on the rim.”
The Monarchs, who admitted this week that the matchup was more than a typical game, celebrated for a beat longer than usual on the midcourt logo.
The teams had last met on Dec. 4, 2022, a 68-62 ODU win in front of 7,966.
“There was definitely extra juice,” said Thomas, a transfer point guard from Austin Peay whose career began at North Carolina State. “I feel like you could feel it around town. Even at the barber shop, they were talking about the game.
“It feels great. Very good. This is ODU’s city.”
Swanton-Rodger’s contested dunk with 91 seconds left broke a 57-57 tie. Thomas made one of two free throws with 40 seconds to go for the game’s final point.
It set the scene for McComb’s last shot. The Monarchs, with three fouls to give, were ready.
“We’ve got some real scrappy guys, and we’ve got some real defenders,” Shaw said. “So when we know that it’s crunch time, I feel like we don’t really have to think about fouling. I think everybody knows their assignments and can stay in front of their person and execute what we need to do to win a ballgame.”
It marked NSU’s second straight close loss against an upper-tier mid-major, following Saturday’s 81-78 setback at William & Mary.
The Spartans, perennial MEAC title contenders, are thinking long-term. Usually a bottom-level NCAA Tournament seed when they win the MEAC, they’re looking for more.
“That could’ve been two tournament teams that you could’ve beat on your resume, which now shifts the line,” NSU coach Robert Jones said. “So it’s a game within the game. For the fans, it’s just green versus blue. For coaches, it’s more to the game than just green versus blue. Because honestly, I’m tired of being a 16 when I go to the NCAA Tournament. These games are the games that move you up the line.”
Both coaches have expressed interest in regular meetings between their two teams, as well as Hampton and William & Mary, as part of an annual regional measuring stick.
The Monarchs are scheduled to visit NSU next November as part of a two-year, home-and-home agreement.
A Devon Ellis layup with 17:44 left in the game cut ODU’s lead to 38-30 and ended a 17-0 Monarchs surge that spanned both halves.
Trailing by seven with three minutes to go in the first half, the Monarchs closed with 11 straight points to take a 32-28 lead into the break.
A 10-0 spurt that began five minutes into the game gave NSU a 17-8 lead — the largest for either team to that point — with 12 minutes left in the first half. It was part of a 16-3 run.
But in the end, it was a protracted 3-0 burst — and the defense that followed it — that proved the difference on a night many in the city anticipated.
“I don’t want to sound like I’m ungrateful, because I’m grateful for that crowd,” Mike Jones said. “But that’s exactly what I thought it was going to be. Their people were in here, too. You could tell those (groups of) young men both wanted to win in the worst way. I’m thankful that we got it done.”
David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com.
