Dayton center Scott plays ‘heck of a game’ against Georgia Tech

NEXT GAME

Dayton vs. Gonzaga, midnight Monday, ESPN2, 1290, 95.7

The Flyers call the first four minutes of every game, the stretch before the first TV timeout, the first war. They lost that war Wednesday, falling behind 7-0 at Georgia Tech.

Sophomore center Devon Scott didn’t start, so he wasn’t on the court for the 7-0 run. He replaced Matt Kavanaugh 84 seconds into the game.

“We all huddled up,” Scott said, “and said, ‘The jitters are gone. We can step up and play with these dudes just like any other team in the country. There’s no need to back down. We’re just as big and bad as anyone else.’”

Dayton (4-0) proved that the rest of the night, beating the Yellow Jackets (3-1) 82-72 at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.

Scott had one of the team’s standout performances. He scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting and added five rebounds, two steals and a block in 24 minutes.

It was easily the best game by a Dayton big man this season. Coach Archie Miller had stressed after each of the first three games the team needed more production from Scott, Kavanaugh, Jalen Robinson and Kendall Pollard.

Kavanaugh, Robinson and Pollard combined for three rebounds and no points in 21 minutes, but Scott showed there’s hope for them yet. He averaged 3.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in the first two games.

“It shows me that scoring can be more of an option for me,” Scott said. “I definitely look to pass and look to get my other teammates going, but I can score. I scored in high school. I just have to show myself more than anything that I can still do it.”

Miller said Scott had to shake some rust off in the first three games after missing the two exhibitions because of a suspension. He said he couldn’t have asked for anything more from Scott on Wednesday.

“Devon used his shot fake,” Miller said. “Once he got a couple of baskets to go down, I think he played really confident around the rim. That was a heck of a game for him. He’s had a great offseason. He’s been one of our best players in practice through three games.”

Dayton left Atlanta on Thursday for Hawaii. The Flyers face 13th-ranked Gonzaga on Monday in the Maui Invitational.