ODU Men Rally Behind Dericko Williams to Claim a 72-62 Victory Over William & Mary
For the second game in a row, the Old Dominion men's basketball team faced off against a Hampton Roads university wearing green and gold in a physical and intense game. And for the second time, the Monarchs played with poise down the stretch to claim a satisfying victory.
Trailing by four with 5:57 left, the Monarchs rode on the back of junior college transfer Dericko Williams and outscored William & Mary, 17-3 over the next five minutes to pull away to a 72-62 victory before 4,579 spectators Wednesday night at Chartway Arena.
The victory came four nights after the Monarchs (6-4) held off Norfolk State, 68-62, in an equally tight game.
The win was the third in four games for ODU, which is attempting to meld a team composed of more newcomers than returnees into a cohesive group, and it came against one of the university's oldest rivals.
The Tribe and Monarchs have played every season since 1974, when ODU was a Division II school, and although the Monarchs lead the series, 71-23, W&M had won seven of the last 11 games.
Coach Jeff Jones said he is satisfied with how hard his team is playing even if the Monarchs don't always play well.
"I think we've seen that our guys compete," he said. "And when things aren't going great, they will just keep plugging along.
"It's always great to win and when you've been pushed the way we have been the last two games and find a way to win, I think that's how teams develop."
The game was tight until the final minutes with 13 lead changes and eight ties.
ODU led by four, 48-44, with 9:16 to go, but the Monarchs then went ice cold and with 5:57 left, W&M's Anders Nelson swished a three-pointer shot to give the Tribe a 53-49 lead. Nelson, a graduate transfer from the University of St. Thomas, led the Tribe with 21 points, with most coming on long jump shots.
That's when Williams, the 6-foot-7 Kinston, North Carolina native and transfer from Tallahassee Community College in Florida, put on a remarkable, five-minute display in which he absolutely took control of the game.
He led the ODU rally by scoring 10 of his 11 points, blocking four shots, pulling down three rebounds and coming up with a steal in the final minutes. His season-high five blocked shots were the most in a game since 2018-19, when Dajour Dickens twice had five blocks.
Williams had a steal and a layup to tie the score at 53-53. He had tip-ins on ODU's next two possessions to make it 57-53. He then blocked a Noah Collier shot, which set up Tyreek Scott-Grayson for fast-break chance in which he was fouled.
Scott-Grayson made both free throws. Williams then blocked another Collier shot, and again had a tip-in that made it 64-56 with 1:05 left.
Williams then made two free throws with 41 seconds left to put ODU up by 10, 68-58.
"Dericko really stepped up," Jones said. "People will remember the tap-ins because each of them was huge. But he also played great ball-screen defense and he had some huge blocked shots.
"What he did down the stretch was really important for us to take control of the game."
The team stats were virtually even in all categories except for one – ODU had 28 points off the bench to nine for W&M. Jones used 11 players and all contributed.
"It was certainly a team effort, and I mean, it always is, but we always talk about our strength is in our numbers and that was certainly the case tonight," Jones said.
Jones said Scott-Grayson "was a little under the weather," but finished with 10 points. And after leading ODU with 23 points against Norfolk State, Chaunce Jenkins struggled at times Wednesday and finished with 10 points.
Faizon Fields, the 6-10, junior college transfer from Memphis, Tennessee, had a career high 10 points and added a team high six rebounds.
William & Mary is 4-6, but three of the losses came on the road to ACC teams and the Tribe upset Richmond, 58-57, in their last outing Saturday night.
ODU next hosts Gardner-Webb Saturday night at 8. Gardner-Webb is 2-6 but earlier this season lost by just six points at then No. 1-ranked North Carolina.
The Monarchs then break for exam week before returning Wednesday, Dec. 21, for a 4 p.m. game against George Mason, the last non-conference game of the season for the Monarchs.
ODU plays its first Sun Belt Conference game on Thursday, Dec. 29, against Arkansas State at 7 and then hosts Louisiana on Saturday, Dec. 31, at 2 p.m.
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