Blakney lofted an alley-oop pass that Holmes grabbed with one hand high above the rim and slammed it down. It was one of five dunks by Holmes, who entered the game tied for second place in the nation and, for the moment, leads the nation with 34 dunks.
“I told him I didn’t know you could get up like that,” Blakney said.
“Every now and then I can jump like that,” Holmes said. “I’m not Obi Toppin, but ...”
Holmes may not be Toppin, the consensus national player of the year in 2020, but he’s just been as dominant at times this season. He scored 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and has averaged 24.7 points during Dayton’s three-game winning streak.
Dayton picked up its most impressive victory of the season in its previous game Saturday against Wyoming, winning 66-49 in Chicago. This was its most lopsided victory since a 96-51 victory against Fordham on Jan. 23, 2013.
“I feel like we played together,” Holmes said. “We played with some toughness. We executed what we had to do, and we just got the job done.”
Here are three takeaways from Dayton’s 13th and final non-conference game of the regular season:
1. The Flyers were even more short-handed than usual: Dayton used eight players in the game, and everyone who was available played. Mustapha Amzil played the most minutes (39).
Here’s why the Flyers had so few players available:
• UD lost two players this week to the transfer portal: Tyrone Baker on Monday and Kaleb Washington on Tuesday.
• Kobe Elvis (knee) and Malachi Smith (ankle) remain sidelined. Elvis was at the game. Smith did not attend the game because he was sick. He was also sick Saturday in Chicago but watched that game from the locker room.
“I don’t know a timetable in terms of returning to practices,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “Neither one of them are at that stage, but they’re progressing.”
• Dayton started the year with four walk-ons on the roster. Cole Hatkevich left the team earlier this month. Atticus Schuler and Ty Locklear were on the bench but not in uniform because of injuries. Brady Uhl did play and made two 3-pointers in the second half.
• Richard Amaefule was also on the bench but did not play because of an injury. He has battled injury issues throughout his two seasons at UD.
“Richard’s nursing an injury,” Grant said. “We’re trying to figure out exactly the extent of it.”
2. Dayton handed Alcorn State its second-worst loss of the season: The Braves (3-9) have played all 12 of their games away from home and suffered one worse loss than this one, 94-40 at Tennessee on Dec. 4. But they also won 66-57 at Wichita State in their second game of the season and played winning teams such as Grand Canyon (9-4) and Southern Illinois (8-3) close.
The Flyers took advantage of their major size advantage and outscored the Braves 52-16 in the paint while blocking a season-high 11 shots. Dayton ranks third in the country in average height. Alcorn State ranks 355th out of 363 teams.
“Kill them inside” was the plan, Blakney said.
3. Dayton built momentum for conference play: Even with three straight victories to end the non-conference schedule, the first 13 games were a disaster for Dayton’s NCAA tournament chances. This was its second 8-5 finish in a row in non-conference play and its third 8-5 record in Grant’s six seasons.
In years that Dayton has earned a NCAA at-large bid this century, it has won at least 10 non-conference games or lost fewer than four games. It was 11-2 in 2019-20, 9-3 in 2016-17, 10-2 in 2014-15 and 2015-16, 12-3 in 2013-14, 14-1 in 2008-09, 10-3 in 2003-04 and 10-2 in 1999-2000.
Dayton will have to pile up victories during the 18-game Atlantic 10 Conference schedule, which starts Dec. 28 at home against Duquesne, to have any chance to enter the at-large berth discussion.
Even if Dayton’s at-large hopes are dim, it has proven it remains one of the top contenders for the A-10 regular-season title. It climbed to No. 58 in the Ken Pomeroy ratings with this victory and is the highest-ranked A-10 team on that website.
STAR OF THE GAME
DaRon Holmes improved his scoring average to 17.7 points per game. He’s tied for sixth in the A-10. He blocked three shots and ranks second in the A-10 with 2.2 blocks per game. He has scored 20 or more points three times in a row and six times in 13 games.
STAT OF THE GAME
Dayton shot 65% (26 of 40) from 2-point range. It has shot 65% or better in each of its last three games against Asheville, Wyoming and Alcorn State.
LOOKING AHEAD
Dayton players will get a break this week and will return to campus on Christmas Day. The Flyers play Duquesne at 7 p.m. Dec. 28 at UD Arena. The Dukes (9-3) rank second in the A-10 in non-conference victories behind Fordham (11-1).
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