The University of Dayton expedited the process by having the families line up on the baseline instead of in the tunnel by the locker rooms. Everyone marched onto the court, posed for their photos with Dayton Flyers coach Anthony Grant and then returned to the sideline. At the end, all the players and managers joined Grant for a group shot.
The thought of having to replace at least five of the players in the spring — Malachi Smith is the only one who could return to Dayton — never crossed Grant’s mind.
“I’m focused on trying to win today,” Grant said, “and trying to get our guys prepared for the next one. That’ll come in good time.”
The future can wait. It’s hard enough winning in the present for Dayton, even on Tom Blackburn Court against the 13th-place team in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Flyers escaped with a 74-64 victory against Richmond on Saturday at UD Arena, winning on Senior Day for the 14th straight season.
Nate Santos provided the biggest shot, a game-tying layup at the buzzer in the first overtime. The Flyers then dominated the second overtime. This was Dayton’s first double-overtime victory at home for Dayton since a 76-73 win against New Mexico in 2011.
“We toughed it out,” Santos said. “We just kept battling. It’s good to get a win.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Here are three takeaways from Dayton’s 29th game:
1. Santos made up for earlier mistakes with the clutch basket: In the first overtime, Smith made a game-tying 3-pointer with 34 seconds remaining. That ended a streak of eight straight missed 3s by Dayton, which shot 29% (9 of 31).
Then Richmond’s Dusan Neskovic dribbled past Dayton forward Jaiun Simon, who had just entered the game as a defensive replacement for Smith, and scored on a wide-open dunk with seven seconds to play.
Dayton did not call a timeout after the basket. Santos, who committed two turnovers on back-to-back possessions earlier in the overtime period, caught the in-bounds pass and took the ball the length of the court. He split two defenders near the basket to score on a layup as time expired, tying the game at 59.
“I was just trying to get it up as quickly as possible,” said Santos, who scored 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting. “I was trying to be aggressive and see what happens.”
2. Dayton’s defense stepped up in the second overtime: The Spiders made 5 of 7 field-goal attempts in the first overtime and missed all seven of their shots in the second overtime.
Dayton made 3 of 5 shots in the second overtime but did most of its damage at the free-throw line, making 9 of 11.
Santos made two free throws with 3 minutes, 35 seconds to play to give Dayton the lead for good. A layup by Smith with 2:10 to play and two free throws by Santos with 1:31 to play capped a 6-0 run that put Dayton in control for good.
Dayton won its second straight game since a 76-72 loss at Loyola Chicago. The Flyers are 9-3 since a 1-3 start in the A-10.
“To me, the silver lining is two games in a row we’ve shown more of an urgency to defend,” Grant said, “and I think that’s what it’s going to take for us as we move closer to the end of the regular season and prepare for the postseason.”
Credit: David Jablonski
3. The Flyers stayed in the hunt for a top-four seed: With two games remaining in the regular season, Dayton (20-9, 10-6) is tied for third place in the Atlantic 10 Conference with three teams:
• Saint Joseph’s (19-10, 10-6), which beat Fordham 90-76 on Saturday in the Bronx, N.Y.
• Saint Louis (17-12, 10-6), which beat Loyola Chicago 98-67 in St. Louis.
• And Loyola Chicago (19-10, 10-6), which saw a five-game winning streak end.
Virginia Commonwealth (24-5, 14-2) sits alone in first place after George Mason (22-7, 13-3) lost 85-68 at Duquesne on Saturday.
Richmond (10-20, 5-12), which began the day in 13th place, lost its seventh straight game at UD Arena, where they haven’t won since 2011.
“Coach (Chris) Mooney and his staff have done an outstanding job,” Grant said. “Their record doesn’t indicate how hard they play and the toughness that they show. Sometimes when you’re not having success, that can bleed into the buy-in and the effort, and credit to him and his staff, those guys battled their tails off today.”
STAR OF THE GAME
Enoch Cheeks scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. It was his third double-double of the season. He made 11 of 14 free throws while the rest of the team made 12 of 19.
STAT OF THE GAME
Dayton forward Zed Key blocked six shots, tying a school record held by six other players: Erv Giddings (1977); George Morrison (1981); Sean Finn (2002); Chris Wright (2011); Steve McElvene (2016); and DaRon Holmes II (2022).
LOOKING AHEAD
Dayton plays Saint Louis at 7 p.m. Tuesday at UD Arena. Dayton won the first matchup 71-63 at Saint Louis on Jan. 31.
TUESDAY’S GAME
Saint Louis at Dayton, Spectrum News 1, ESPN+, 1290, 95.7
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