Chappelle, who has lived 21 miles east of Dayton in Yellow Springs for many years, told the Dayton Daily News after the game he had never been to UD Arena. He told Dayton Flyers coach Anthony Grant he would be back.
The way Dayton played in the second half, rallying from a 14-point deficit to beat Saint Louis 75-67, the University of Dayton will roll out the red carpet for Chappelle anytime he wants to come to a game. He wasn’t in his seats in the first half as the Billikens built a 41-28 halftime lead but didn’t leave his seat in the second half as the Flyers dominated.
Dayton players posed for a photo with Chappelle in the tunnel on the way to the locker room after the game. Then Grant did the same, telling Chappelle, “We appreciate you.”
Grant had greater appreciation for the effort of his players, who played some of their best basketball of the season in the last 15 minutes of the final home game.
“I’m just really proud of our group,” Grant said. “In the first half we got punched in the mouth. Saint Louis is playing really good basketball. We knew, from an offensive standpoint, they’re really talented with (Gibson) Jimerson and the crew they have. They shot the ball really well. In the first half, we struggled offensively. They had a great game plan in terms of guarding our action.
“So it came down to the second half. We knew we’d just have to grind it out on the defensive end, turn up the pressure on them, try to have our defense create some offense and get some flow and some continuity. Fortunately for us, we were able to do that. I thought the difference was our pressure wore them down in the second half, and some of those shots that went in in the first half didn’t go in. We took them out of some of the things that they were having success with, and it kind of flowed for us from there.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Here are three takeaways from Dayton’s 30th game:
1. Saint Louis controlled the first half: After Dayton guard Enoch Cheeks tied the game at 17-17 with a jump shot with 13 minutes, 16 seconds left in the half, Saint Louis began an 11-0 run over the next six minutes. It led by as many as 15 points and took a 41-28 lead into halftime.
Isaiah Swope scored 18 of his 28 points in the first half. Jimerson made 5 of 7 3-pointers and scored 15 of his 23 points.
While Saint Louis made 8 of 16 3s in the first half, Dayton made 4 of 12.
“At halftime I would have thought we were in position,” first-year Saint Louis coach Josh Schertz said in a story by longtime SLU beat writer Stu Durando. “I felt great about our chances.”
Credit: David Jablonski
2. Dayton dominated most of the second half: Dayton trailed 51-37 after a 3-pointer by Swope with 15 minutes, 49 seconds to play. Over the next six minutes, Dayton outscored Saint Louis 16-2, tying the game at 53 on two free throws by Zed Key at the 9:37 mark.
Saint Louis answered Dayton’s run with a 7-1 run to take a 60-54 lead. Cheeks then tied the game with back-to-back 3s. They were the first of six straight made shots by Dayton.
The shots by Cheeks started a 15-2 Dayton run in a 2½-minute stretch. Dayton led 69-62 after a dunk by Cheeks at the 5:05 mark. The Flyers led the rest of the way.
Dayton made 6 of 13 3s in the second half, while Saint Louis made 4 of 16. The Billikens scored five points in the last six minutes, missing six shots in a row at one point.
Dayton forward Zed Key, who had 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, said Dayton’s defense turned the momentum.
“We had to guard the 3-point line better,” Key said. “They came out in the first half hitting everything. We came together and got stops and ultimately we got out in transition and turned the game around.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
3. Dayton stayed in the hunt for a top-four seed: Dayton (21-9, 11-6) swept the season series from Saint Louis (17-13, 10-7). The Billikens have lost 11 straight games at UD Arena since a victory in January 2014.
Dayton moved into third place all by itself in the Atlantic 10 Conference with one game to play. It leads Saint Louis by a game. Saint Joseph’s and Loyola Chicago (both 10-6 in A-10 play) trail Dayton by a half game.
Here’s how the schedules look for the four teams vying for the final two top-four seeds in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament. Two of these teams will receive double-byes to the quarterfinals.
• Dayton plays first-place Virginia Commonwealth (25-5, 15-2) in the final game of the regular season at 7 p.m. Friday at the Siegel Center in Richmond, Va. VCU won 71-62 at Duquesne on Tuesday to clinch a share of the A-10 regular-season title.
• Saint Louis plays at home against Duquesne (13-17, 8-9) on Saturday.
• Saint Joseph’s plays a home game against 11th-place Rhode Island (17-11, 6-10) on Wednesday and plays at 14th-place La Salle (12-17, 4-12) on Saturday.
• Loyola plays at home against 11th-place Davidson (16-13, 6-10) on Wednesday and plays at ninth-place Massachusetts (12-17, 7-9) on Saturday.
Dayton won its final home game for the 14th straight season. For the second straight season, Dayton erased a double-digit deficit to win its final home game. It rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit to beat VCU 91-86 in overtime a year ago.
“It’s a great feeling to get the W, especially in the last home game,” Key said. “It was a great atmosphere. The place was rocking.”
STAR OF THE GAME
Enoch Cheeks led Dayton with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting and nine rebounds.
STAT OF THE GAME
Dayton had a 43-28 rebounding advantage, including a 13-6 edge in offensive rebounds.
FRIDAY’S GAME
Dayton at VCU, 7 p.m., ESPN2, 95.7, 1290
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