STATESBORO, Ga. — For the second consecutive game, the Old Dominion men incurred heartbreak on the road against a conference foe.
Jefferson Koulibaly drilled a go-ahead 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining, and Sun Belt contender Georgia Southern (13-6, 5-1) held on to defeat the Monarchs 87-84 Thursday night.
The loss spoiled one of ODU’s best-balanced offensive performances of the year. Robert Davis Jr. had 20 points for the Monarchs (5-14, 2-5 Sun Belt), hitting 6 of 12 3-pointers, while LJ Thomas had 17 points, KC Shaw 14 and Jordan Battle 12.
Tyren Moore led the Eagles with 21 points and nine rebounds. Spudd Webb — no relation to 5-foot-7 1986 NBA dunk contest winner Spud Webb of the Atlanta Hawks — had 19 points, while Alden Applewhite had 17.
ODU played a stellar first half, moving up 32-21 and ending it ahead 48-39. But the Eagles wasted little time surging after the break, going ahead 51-50 with 17:33 on the clock.
Georgia Southern led by small margins most of the rest of the way, including 80-74 when Applewhite canned a 3-pointer at the 3:32 mark. But 3s by Davis and Battle pulled ODU even at 80 with 2:24 remaining.
Thomas fouled Webb at the 1:55 mark. After Webb hit his first free throw, Thomas became ill and vomited on the court, causing a delay of several minutes. Webb sank his second try, but Drew McKenna’s layup tied it at 82 with 1:28 to go.
Applewhite missed two free throws with 47 seconds to go, and Thomas had recovered enough to make a layup at 0:28 for an 84-82 lead. But Koulibaly drained his only 3-point basket of the game from the left wing, and Davis’ attempt to answer from beyond the arc missed wide left.
Moore grabbed the rebound, was fouled and sank two free throws with nine-tenths of a second to play. After a timeout, ODU’s long pass was intercepted to end the game — another gut punch for a team that squandered a 19-point lead Saturday and lost 70-69 at James Madison.
The Monarchs will get back in action at 1 p.m. Saturday at Appalachian State.
