Battle 4 Atlantis: Dayton loses Smith, Elvis to injuries and then game to BYU

Flyers fail to win a game in November tournament for first time in 30 years

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

NASSAU, Bahamas — Things went from bad to worse to disastrous for the Dayton Flyers during the three days of the Battle 4 Atlantis at Imperial Arena.

The final game was as bad as it gets for a number of reasons. Dayton blew a 23-point lead in a 79-75 overtime loss to Brigham Young in the seventh-place game, finishing 0-3 at a November tournament for the first time since 1992.

The worse news was on the injury front.

• Kobe Elvis left the game in the second half after a fall near the basket and appeared to injure his knee.

• Malachi Smith, who has been plagued by ankle injuries throughout his Dayton career, twisted his left ankle and was carried to the locker room by coaches Ricardo Greer and Sean Damaska and trainer Mike Mulcahey. Smith suffered the injury on a drive to the basket with the game tied in the final seconds.

Dayton played the overtime period without Elvis, Smith and Toumani Camara, who had fouled out, and the Cougars pulled away by making three 3-pointers.

Here’s a quick recap of the game:

What it means: Dayton is 3-4 for the first time since the 2017-18 season when it finished 14-7. The Flyers finished last in a November tournament for the first time since the Great Alaska Shootout 30 years ago, and the finish comes one year after they won the ESPN Events Invitational.

Key stat: BYU made 13 of 27 3-pointers and 7 of 14 in the second half as it methodically chipped away at a 40-24 halftime deficit.

Top player: Gideon George scored 21 points for the Cougars and made 3 of 5 3-pointers.

Key plays: Dayton maintained its lead until the 2:19 mark when George hit a go-ahead 3-pointer. A layup by Mike Sharavjamts put Dayton back on top with 1:53 to play, but BYU tied the game at the free-throw line. Then a turnover by DaRon Holmes II with 38 seconds left cost Dayton a chance in the final minutes. Smith also turned the ball over on the play on which he was injured.

Looking ahead: Dayton returns home to play Western Michigan at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Halftime recap

Two days after scoring 14 points in the first half, the Flyers played their best half of the season and built a 40-24 halftime lead.

Dayton is trying to bounce back from a 43-42 loss Wednesday to Wisconsin in the first round and a 76-64 loss to N.C. State in the consolation round on Thursday.

Here’s a quick recap of the first half:

Top Dayton player: DaRon Holmes II scored six of Dayton’s first eight points and had 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Key stat: Dayton made 5 of 13 3-pointers (38.5%). It has not shot above 31% in a game this season and made 6 of 38 (15.8) in the first two games at the Battle 4 Atlantis. Mike Sharavjamts made 2 of 5 3-pointers and scored eight points.

Big run: Dayton led 15-9 and then scored 17 straight points in the next five minutes.

Other scores: Wisconsin beat Southern California 64-59 in the third-place game.

About the Author