Dayton basketball: Uhl ready for his chance; Bennett talks about thumb injury

Uhl laughed when he saw the fans as he left the court. He then pointed their way.

“Those guys have been close friends since I’ve been at Dayton,” Uhl said.

For the second straight year, Uhl played a big role in a game after seeing little meaningful action last season. He made a 3-pointer to ignite a big run against Saint Joseph’s in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament. This season, he had played 17 minutes all season. His designated role throughout the season was as the foul-giver at the end of halves, but Dayton needed him to play a larger role Tuesday in its final A-10 road game.

Uhl, a 6-foot-2 fourth-year guard from Alter High School who earned a scholarship in January after two seasons as a walk-on, played 14 minutes. He was pressed into service because starting point guard Javon Bennett missed the game with an injured left thumb and Zimi Nwokeji was not at the game because of a “conduct issue,” coach Anthony Grant said.

“It’s really cool to be able to have the opportunity but at the same time, at what cost?” Uhl said. “But I’m super thankful that Coach (Grant) trusted me to go in the game and do what I do best. He puts me in positions where I can succeed.”

Uhl made his first 3-point attempt, one of 18 the Flyers hit in a record-tying performance, and missed his next two. He also had one rebound, one assist and one turnover.

“My role is to play good defense, take care of the ball and Coach is always telling me to shoot when I’m open,” Uhl said.

“He did a great job making himself ready,” Grant said. “All the preparation throughout the season, not having a chance to play extended minutes and then being able to come on the road and function in that environment, it’s just a credit to who he is. He keeps himself ready every day in practice, in the weight room, mentally, just knowing what to do and how to do it.”

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

Injury update: Bennett did not look like a happy Flyer as he watched his teammates warm up Tuesday. He sat on the bench in street clothes with his injured thumb tucked away in his sweatshirt. Anyone getting to the game early at Chaifetz Arena would have known right away the starting point guard wasn’t going to play.

Bennett wore a different look throughout the second half as No. 25 Dayton put the finishing touches on the victory. Like everyone on the Dayton bench, he had a great time witnessing the blowout victory.

“Guys had to step up,” Bennett said, “and they all stepped up.”

Bennett hurt his left thumb in the first half Friday in a 77-72 loss at Loyola Chicago. His thumb bent after he caught it in his jersey as he saved a ball from going out of bounds. He doesn’t know if he’ll play again this season. He hopes to know by the end of the week, he said, but first has to see more doctors.

“It’s day by day,” Bennett said.

Coaching honor: Grant will receive a “Guardians of the Game” award from the National Association of Basketball Coaches on April 5 at the NABC Convention in Phoenix during Final Four weekend, UD announced Wednesday.

According to UD, the awards are presented to “coaches, administrators and contributors who embody the NABC’s core values of leadership, service, education, advocacy, and inclusion.” Grant will receive an award for education.

Record update: DaRon Holmes II led Dayton with 25 points. He now has 1,657 points in his career. He passed Jack Sallee (1,610) and Bill Uhl Sr. (1,627) in the last game with 20 points against Loyola Chicago and Mike Kanieski (1,642) and Donald Smith (1,655) in this game to climb to 11th on the all-time scoring list.

Senior night: Dayton (23-6, 13-3) plays Virginia Commonwealth (19-11, 11-6) at 7 p.m. Friday at UD Arena. It’s the final game of the regular season and Senior Night for Nwokeji, Kobe Elvis and C.J. Napier.

Elvis is graduating this year but said he has not made a decision about next year. He has one season of eligibility remaining.

Nwokeji was not at the game Tuesday because of a “conduct issue,” Grant said. He did not know if Nwokeji would be at the game Friday.