NEXT GAME
St. Francis (N.Y.) at Dayton, noon Saturday, Fox Sports Ohio
The Flyer Pep Band has put on hats that look like flat basketballs late in the first two games of the season. They’re not exactly rally hats in the baseball sense, but they’ve done the trick twice now in five days.
The Dayton players themselves, of course, have played a bigger part in the late-game rallies, though the Flyers didn’t need a SportsCenter No. 1 play to beat St. Francis University (Pa.) on Wednesday at UD Arena. A 16-2 run in the final four minutes clinched a 70-56 victory over the Red Flash.
“It’s kind of rough, but it gets us prepared for close games,” said senior forward Devin Oliver, who led the Flyers with 16 points and 12 rebounds. “We’ll keep working. We’ll get better.”
Dayton improved to 2-0 for the first time in coach Archie Miller’s three seasons. Until the final minutes, this one looked a lot like Saturday’s season opener against Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, a game won 81-80 on a 3-pointer by Jordan Sibert with one second left.
The Flyers committed unforced turnovers in this one, struggling to find a rhythm on offense. They never trailed in the second half but failed to put away St. Francis until the final stretch.
“It’s still early in the season,” Oliver said. “We’re still finding our way as a team. You can’t be mad at a win. It was good to see us finish the game.”
St. Francis (1-2) tied the game at 54 with 4:06 to play on two free throws by Ollie Jackson, who led the team with 13 points.
Sibert started the winning rally with a 3-pointer from the corner in front of the Dayton bench with 3:47 remaining. He also scored the next four points on free throws.
“Sibert adds that element to our team, that big-shot status,” Oliver said.
Sibert scored 12 points. Dyshawn Pierre added 14 points and 10 rebounds. Khari Price scored 14.
The Flyers shot 21-of-27 at the free-throw line. The late run masked what a close game it was for most of the night.
“We’re not playing very well right now,” Miller said. “It doesn’t feel as good as it probably could at this time of year for us. But we need to go through this right now. This is probably one of the most important stretches we’ll go through.
“Right now, it’s that initial shock and awe and realization that certain individuals are sacrificing, certain individuals are trying to find their place, and as a staff, we’re trying to figure out what the chemistry is on the team in terms of the lineups and the substitution patterns. It’s put us in a fog — feet stuck in the mud, mind in the mud.”
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