Dayton freshman enjoys ‘awesome’ moment with Flyer Faithful

Holmes II, a 6-foot-10 freshman forward, had nine points and four rebounds in his college debut as Dayton rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to beat Illinois-Chicago 64-54 on Tuesday. He became the first true freshman since Jalen Robinson in 2012 to start the opener.

Holmes Sr. traveled from Arizona to Ohio for the game and stayed in Dayton so he could attend the second game of the season against UMass Lowell at 6 p.m. Saturday. His wife Tomika, who celebrated her birthday Tuesday, also saw her son play his first game in person. Her mom Wanda Steele and sister Aisha Steele-Dillard were there as well.

“It was an amazing experience,” Holmes Sr. said. “Just the energy, it felt like big-time basketball, which the A-10 can be. That’s part of why we decided that this was the place. There’s a rabid fan base that’s all about the team and an amazing arena. He should do well here.”

The moment at Milano’s came hours after the game, around 10:30 p.m. The whole family walked into the restaurant on Brown Street. It didn’t take fans long to recognize one of the newest Flyers. His size alone makes him hard to miss.

“We had heard so much about the fan base here and how supportive they are of the team,” Holmes Sr. said, “Having that unexpected moment, it was just great for our family but just really great for DaRon to receive such support.”

Two other players, Toumani Camara and Mustapha Amzil, entered Milano’s minutes later, Holmes Sr. said, and received the same applause.

“It was just moving seeing that type of energy and being embraced by the fan base,” Holmes Sr. said.

The fans gave the Flyers plenty of ovations during the game, too, especially during a 19-0 second-half run that turned a 46-37 deficit into a 56-46 lead. While Dayton fans getting noisy is nothing new, this was an instance were they proactive instead of reactive, taking the game into their own hands and fueling the team.

“It was almost like the fans in unison realized, ‘Hey, our team needs some energy. Let’s give it to them,’” Holmes Sr. said. “The fans just decided to get loud and inject some energy into the atmosphere, and the team fed off of it. One play, two plays, three plays, and next thing you know, we’re on a roll. I do believe the fans played a large part in that. When that happened, I don’t recall there being an on-the-court play that motivated the fans. I think they just felt the timing was right to inject some energy.”

Dayton will get the same number of fans, 13,407, at every game this season because it sold out all 17 home games. It may not need the energy to save it in every game, but its also a young and inexperienced team that can’t overlook any opponent.

Illinois-Chicago was picked to finish eighth out of 12 teams in the Horizon League. UMass Lowell was picked to finish sixth out of 10 teams in the America East Conference.

This is Lowell’s ninth season in Division I. It finished 11-12 last season, and that’s the closest it’s come to a winning season since making the move from Division II.

This is the second straight season Lowell has played its second game of the season in Ohio. It lost 74-64 at Ohio State last season. Lowell led that game with 10 minutes to play, and it was tied with 5:59 to play. Ohio State didn’t pull away until the final two minutes.

That would have been Lowell’s biggest victory since moving to Division I. Since the 2013-14 season, it is 2-40 against teams ranked in the top 150 of the Ken Pomeroy ratings.

Lowell did bring some momentum into this season. It ended last season by winning three straight games against Stony Brook, New Hampshire and Maryland Baltimore County in the America East tournament before losing 64-50 to Hartford in the championship game.

Lowell’s top returning scorer, Connor Withers (11.4 points per game), did not play in the season opener.

Dayton has been healthy with the exception of Zimi Nwokeji, who sat on the bench in street clothes during the opener, still sidelined by what coach Anthony Grant called an “upper body injury.” When Nwokeji returns, the fight for playing time could be even more intense. Grant used an eight-man rotation in the opener. A ninth player, Moulaye Sissoko, played two minutes.

In the final 12 minutes, seven Flyers saw the court: the five starters Holmes II, Camara, Koby Brea, R.J. Blakney and Kobe Elvis plus Elijah Weaver and Amzil.

Camara led Dayton with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Elvis, who scored 10, was the only other Flyer in double figures. Grant saw contributions, on both ends, from all over the lineup.

“I think we had great efforts from a lot of different guys,” he said. “There were a lot of different plays tonight that were huge. I don’t know what Deuce (Holmes II) got credited for with blocked shots, but his ability to alter shots and protect the paint for us was big. I thought Elijah came up with a huge charge for us that they really ignited the crowd and kind of spurred us on that run. Some of the extra passes that guys were willing to make and some of the offensive rebounds allowed us to keep possessions going. There were a lot of hustle plays tonight. I think that made a difference.”

SATURDAY’S GAME

UMass Lowell at Dayton, 6 p.m., ESPN+, 1290, 95.7