Grant was asked what he told the players during a timeout midway though the first half after Duquesne stretched its lead to 22-11.
“Bleep, bleepity, bleep, bleep, bleep,” Grant said with a smile.
The room exploded with laughter. Grant followed his joke by saying, “I don’t remember what I said, but we needed to play with more energy.”
Whatever he said worked because Dayton outscored Duquesne 13-2 in the next five minutes. That run paled in comparison to the game-deciding 22-2 run in the last 6 minutes, 17 seconds of the game. The Flyers turned a 57-53 deficit into a 75-57 lead before Duquesne finally scored on its last possession with nine seconds remaining.
The No. 16 Flyers (20-4, 10-2) may have lacked the energy at the start but had plenty at the end as they bounced back from a 49-47 loss at Virginia Commonwealth on Friday, improved to 12-0 at home and reached the 20-win mark for the fifth time in Grant’s seven seasons.
“I’ve got to take my hat off to Duquesne,” Grant said. “I thought they set the tone to start the game. I wasn’t pleased with the way that we started from an energy standpoint, from an effort standpoint. I thought in the first eight to 10 minutes, they kind of took the fight to us. After that, our guys responded to close to half pretty well. Obviously, it was back and forth for most of the (second) half. We could never really get separation. The last eight minutes or so of the game, it came down to really our guys’ grit and toughness and determination. They showed great poise. I think it’s a product of not only who they are as competitors, but kind of what they’ve been through over the course of the season.”
Here are three takeaways from Dayton’s 24th game:
1. Dayton took over the game by making free throws: After shooting a season-worst 50% (9 of 18) at the free-throw line Friday at VCU, Dayton made 16 of 23 free throws (69.6%). Duquesne made 1 of 3.
Dayton trailed 57-53 after a layup by Duquesne guard Jimmy Clark at the 6:39 mark. Two free throws by Dayton’s Nate Santos at the 6:17 mark started a 22-0 run. Dayton scored the first nine points in the run at the free-throw line.
DaRon Holmes, who led Dayton with 24 points, made 4 of 7 free throws after making 5 of 13 against VCU.
“That’s something we practice every day,” Holmes said. “That’s just staying disciplined. Some nights it’s falling more often than others, but you just got to keep your head straight.”
2. Dayton almost pitched a shutout in the last six minutes for the second straight game: VCU didn’t score in the last 5 minutes, 58 seconds against Dayton. Duquesne didn’t score from the 6:39 mark until its final possession.
Duquesne missed eight straight shots and committed four turnovers during Dayton’s 22-0 run. The Flyers forced two turnovers by turning on a full-court press. A basket by Jake DiMichele with nine seconds left ended Dayton’s run.
“I felt like maybe we got a little tired,” Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot said. “It wasn’t anything complicated. We just made a few mistakes. We missed two box outs on the free-throw line, too. Then we missed open shots. We had some open looks. I mean they’re good. They’re 16th in the country for a reason.”
3. Dayton’s best shooter made two late daggers: Koby Brea regained the national lead in 3-point shooting percentage, making 4 of 5. He’s shooting 48.9% (68 of 139). Virginia’s Isaac McKneely began the night ranked first in the nation but made 2 of 6 Tuesday and is shooting 47.3% (61 of 129).
Brea made two 3s during the 22-0 run. He made a 3-pointer with 3:10 to play to give Dayton its first 10-point lead of the game and made another at the 1:17 mark.
“The biggest thing I say when people ask me about (his shooting) is I wouldn’t be able to do it without the trust from my teammates and the coaching staff,” Brea said. “They do such a good job of giving me confidence and telling me whenever I get it and I’m open, shoot it. I can’t go wrong like that. It wouldn’t happen if we didn’t have such a good team.”
STAR OF THE GAME
Dayton forward DaRon Holmes II scored 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting. He grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots. He’s averaging 19.6 points and 7.9 rebounds.
Holmes now has 1,543 points in his career. He ranks 18th in school history. He passed Keith Waleskowski (1,515) in the last game and Ryan Perryman (1,524) and Ramod Marshall (1,538) in this game.
STAT OF THE GAME
Dayton committed five turnovers to Duquesne’s 10. The Flyers have turned the ball over fewer than 10 times in 11 games this season and seven times in the last nine games. They’re averaging 9.7 turnovers.
Dayton’s turnover percentage (15.1) is its best in the KenPom.com. The website’s stats date to the 1996-97 season.
LOOKING AHEAD
Dayton plays Fordham (10-13, 4-6) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at UD Arena. Fordham plays a home game against St. Bonaventure on Wednesday.
Dayton won 82-58 at Fordham last season and beat Fordham 78-68 in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament. Dayton leads the series 35-6.
SATURDAY’S GAME
Fordham at Dayton, 1:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network, 1290, 95.7
About the Author
