I left for the Bahamas on Sunday and will be in Nassau all week covering the 2022 tournament. Four years ago, I had a briefer stay, flying in on the day of the first game and out the morning after the last game.
Here’s a look back at my coverage of Dayton’s first appearance at the event.
Game 1 (Nov. 21, 2018): Dayton 69, Butler 64
What I wrote: The familiar “We are UD!” chant echoed around Imperial Gym in the final minutes Wednesday as the Dayton Flyers put the finishing touches on a 69-64 victory against Butler.
Dayton fans always travel well to these exempt tournaments, and they packed the arena like no other team on the first day of the Battle 4 Atlantis. Dayton Athletic Director Neil Sullivan was told by a tournament official his school will have one of the bigger turnouts in the eight-year history of the event, though the exact number of Flyer fans here is not known because many fans bought their tickets on the day of the game.
» PHOTO GALLERY: 35 shots from Dayton’s victory over Butler
For the first time since the Advocare Invitational in 2015, the Flyers (4-0) rewarded their loyal fanbase with a first-round victory, and this might be the most important non-conference win since that defeat of Iowa in Orlando three years ago. It is easily the biggest non-conference victory, if not the biggest victory period, in coach Anthony Grant’s two seasons.
The Flyers, led by Jalen Crutcher’s 20 points and Josh Cunningham’s 18, never trailed and led by as many as 15 points in the second half.
“It just sets the tone for us,” junior guard Trey Landers said. “Like I say all the time, we do what we do. We focus on what we do. We were doubted coming into this game. We knew that. But at the end of the day, it’s about what we’ve got going on here. I trust my teammates. I love each one of my teammates. I know we have confidence in each other. I wasn’t worried about us being nervous or us not being poised. Jalen and Josh dominated the game tonight. Big ups to them. I feel we were ready for this.”
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
Game 2 (Nov. 22, 2018): Virginia 66, Dayton 59
What I wrote: Virginia guard De’Andre Hunter scored 23 points against the Dayton Flyers with only three of them coming on 3-point shots.
However, Hunter’s one 3-pointer was the dagger in Virginia’s 66-59 victory in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Thursday. The shot with 55 seconds left extended Virginia’s lead to 63-56.
“He’s a really good player,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “That was a huge (3-pointer) at the end. Obviously a two-possession game, shot clock winding down with a minute to play. You get a miss there and who knows. You get a transition opportunity. It’s a different ballgame. That was huge. He’s a big player and made a big-time play for his team.”
» MORE ON GAME: Solomon coaches against his alma mater | 20 photos | Flyers enjoying Atlantis resort
Virginia made 7 of 20 3-pointers (35 percent). Dayton made 5 of 14 (35.7), and Jalen Crutcher made 3 of 6.
Hunter, who was averaging 14.5 points per game entering the game, doesn’t shoot many 3-pointers but is accurate. He has made 7 of 12 this season.
“When I got it, I knew the guy was going to jump, so I pump faked,” Hunter said, “and when I took the dribble, I saw the shot clock so I knew I had to shoot it, and it was kind of just instinct from there and it’s just a shot that I shoot all the time.”
Virginia (5-0) handed Dayton (4-1) its first loss.
“That was a gritty game,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “It was hard fought. Dayton is tough to play against, and that’s one of the first games we’ve been in where possessions mattered late. De’Andre (Hunter), I thought was great, the plays he made and how hard he played, and different guys stepped up. They had a bunch of points in the paint, 36, and they shot a high percentage so there’s certainly things to learn and grow from and some real good things as well.”
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
Game No. 3 (Nov. 23, 2018): Oklahoma 65, Dayton 54
The Dayton Flyers turned a 14-point deficit into a seven-point lead but still lost 65-54 to Oklahoma in the third-place game in the Battle 4 Atlantis on Friday at Imperial Gym.
Dayton (4-2) trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half and was down 34-28 at halftime, but it opened the second half on a 13-0 run to take a 41-34 lead. However, the Sooners responded with a 13-4 run and led the rest of the game.
Dayton trailed by four with just under four minutes to play but could get no closer.
Jalen Crutcher led the Flyers with 14 points. Trey Landers and Jordan Davis each scored 12. Christian James scored 21 for Oklahoma.
“I think we definitely got better as a team,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “I think we learned a lot about ourselves as a team. We would have liked to have won the tournament, would have liked to have had the chance to go 2-1, but that wasn’t our fate. We’ve got a group that enjoys playing with each other. They enjoy being around each other. They’re disappointed because they wanted to win, but the lessons we learned from this will continue to carry them forward.”
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