And with 4:30 left in the game, he turned into an animated cheerleader – albeit a mighty big one at 6-feet-10 – as he skipped down the court at UD Arena, waving his arms and grinning until he had the entire crowd of 13,407 on its feet cheering.
But just when you thought DaRon “Deuce” Holmes could do nothing more to surprise you in the Dayton Flyers’ stirring, 82 -76 victory over Davidson, the freshman center topped it all at the post-game press conference.
That’s when he admitted he has a hotline straight to heaven.
Holmes rated Saturday’s atmosphere at UD Arena as “No. 1″ among all the Flyers home games this season and I agree.
With everything that was going on – the toe-to-toe showdown with a veteran team that had won the Atlantic 10 Conference, lost just four games and had the best offense in the Atlantic 10; the fact that the Arena was jammed to the rafters one last time; it being Senior Day; and also having four new inductees into the UD Hall of Fame being honored at halftime – you couldn’t have asked for more.
Holmes was asked how it felt to be a part of that, especially since he had committed to UD during the COVID pandemic and never did visit the campus, much less the sold-out Arena when it was rockin’.
He said he simply had to envision it from his Arizona home.
“I wanted to visit bad, but something was telling me after looking at it and speaking to Coach Grant and watching some video,” he said, then added:
“And I talked to God and He told me this is the place.”
Say what?
You and God went 1-on-1?
So what, God is a Flyers fan?
Homes offered that same big grin he showed on the court:
“He is a Flyers fan!”
And that certainly seemed to be the case Saturday.
This was one of the two best games the Flyers played this season.
In late November they did shock the basketball world and beat No. 4 Kansas, 74-73, in an ESPN Tournament game in Florida.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Saturday they showed real growth – and “grit” coach Anthony Grant said afterward – when they went back and forth all game with Davidson and then had the Wildcats come barreling back from a six-point deficit to take the lead, 76-75, on three straight free throws by guard Foster Loyer with just 65 seconds left.
In some past games, the young Flyers might have come down the court and hurried themselves into a turnover or an unwise shot.
Not this time.
Not with Koby Brea shooting the basketball.
He got the ball deep on the wing and with the Flyers option inside bottled up, he juked forward and that caused Davidson’s 6-foot-7 defender, Hyunjung Lee, to take a bit of a step backward.
At the same time Brea took a step back in the other direction and had just enough daylight to launch a three pointer – “a big time shot,” Grant called it – that snapped the net cords with 43 seconds left.
UD had retaken the lead and Davidson would never score again.
It was Brea’s fourth three-pointer of the game. He finished with 18 points and lived up to his nickname said Holmes:
“We call him Fuego for a reason. That’s his middle name. He adds fire. Once he gets hot, there’s really no stoppin’ him. I knew that shot was going in after he did the step-back.”
Brea said he’s had that name since high school:
“My mother, she’s the one who started it. She’s Spanish, of course, nd she’d come to my games. She doesn’t know much about basketball, but when I’d shoot it, she’d say ‘Fuego Fuego!’
“Like ‘Fire! Fire the ball.’ Somebody picked it up and it kind of went from there.”
Dayton had many stars Saturday, including Grant.
The victory gave him his 100th at UD and it was extra special because he once played here, too.
As soon as the game ended, athletics director Neil Sullivan – “Mr. Neil” as Holmes called him – showed quickness nobody knew he had and hustled onto the court to retrieve the basketball for posterity.
Grant showed some real class at the start of the game when – even in this big showdown – he started his two walk-on seniors, Christian Wilson and Drew Swerlein.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
They played the first minute and got a rousing applause when they exited the game.
The player Grant kept on the court the longest Saturday was Holmes and rightly so.
He has really developed since the season began and now can hold his own with older, beefier big men.
Davidson players were acutely aware of him inside. Often they were forced to alter their shots and many times they opted to throw the ball back out rather than risk getting their shot blocked.
“I’ve seen growth from him since the season began,” Brea said. “It’s amazing to see it. He’s such a hard worker and he’s learned to be more physical.
“He’s better down there with a lot of the big dudes. The A-10 has some pretty solid bigs.
“In the beginning of the year he was shying away, kind of relying on his athleticism. Now he’s being more physical and making moves in the post.”
Brea talked about the exuberance Holmes shows on the court, both during and immediately after the final buzzer when he heads to the student section to exchange high fives. He punctuated his celebration by lifting fellow freshman, Malachi Smith, into the air.
“He really is a big kid.” Brea laughed.
The crowd especially loves Holmes, but on this day, it held the whole team in a warm embrace.
“I’m gonna miss it so much … (at least) ‘til next year,” Brea said. “It’s unbelievable. You hear about it. You watch it on TV. But there’s nothing like being here physically and seeing how it gets for everybody on and off the court.
“The community is beautiful. The people here are amazing. To get that type of support, it’s honestly a thing of beauty.”
Grant agreed, saying UD Arena is “one of the best environments in all of college basketball and it proved it today.” After Fuego and Deuce had weighed in, Grant was asked if he too had a colorful nickname.
He thought a moment, then shook his head: “I don’t think I have one.” Pressed on what it could be, he shrugged:
“Grateful!”
A lot of Flyers fans are grateful today.
And, according to Holmes, that includes one up there peering over the pearly gates.
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