“Deuce (DaRon Holmes II) was day to day with an ankle injury,” Grant said. “Toumani (Camara) was day to day with the knee and a little bit of a virus. Mike (Sharavjamts) was ill with some type of food poisoning. Koby Brea was extremely ill and actually had to go to hospital yesterday. The focus was trying to make sure that we got as prepared as we could for today, not knowing who would be available today.”
Dayton (3-1) bounced back from a 60-52 loss at UNLV on Tuesday. Despite the off-court issues, they had their most complete roster of the season with Malachi Smith returning from an ankle injury that caused him to miss about a month of practice and the first three games. He replaced Sharavjamts in the starting lineup and tallied five points and three assists in 21 minutes.
Brea did miss the game with an illness. He was on the bench but not in uniform. Kaleb Washington also sat on the bench for the first time after serving a three-game suspension.
Assuming Brea can return to action next week, Dayton could have its full roster available for the first time just in time for the most important stretch of the non-conference season. The Flyers fly to Nassau, Bahamas, on Monday and play Wisconsin (3-0) in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Paradise Island at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.
“There’s a lot of different forms of adversity that hits you,” Grant said. “For our guys, learning to be resilient, learning to understand who we are and what we have and what we’re capable of and not living in the day-to-day stuff that everybody else gets caught up in, that’s kind of what the last few days were for. It was good to see them come out today and be able to with guys who weren’t able to practice this week.”
Holmes led Dayton with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting and blocked three shots after injuring his ankle in the second half Tuesday.
Camara missed the second half of the UNLV game with a knee injury and returned to record his first double-double of the season (11 points and 14 rebounds).
Sharavjamts, who averaged 11.3 points in the first three games, scored 3 points on 1-of-4 shooting from 3-point range and played a season-low 12 minutes.
“Toumani, that was his first time on the court today (since Tuesday),” Grant said. “Mike was able to do a little bit yesterday, but he didn’t look 100%. It is what it is. It’s a process for us.”
Grant’s hope is Dayton will find a better rhythm once the entire group gets some reps together in practice. Playing three games in three days in the Bahamas should help the Flyers develop some consistency, though it will be playing its three toughest opponents of the season.
Kansas or North Carolina State will be the second opponent on Thanksgiving Day. Butler, Tennessee, Brigham Young or Southern California will be the final opponent Friday.
“That’s the great thing about this tournament,” Grant said. “If we can have everybody available, we’ll get tested by three highly-competitive teams. We know we’re playing Wisconsin first. I don’t know who else we’ll get, but they’ll be very challenging. It will be an opportunity to see where we’re at.”
Against Robert Morris, Dayton took a 2-0 lead on the opening possession thanks to a basket by Holmes and led the rest of the way. It built a 15-point lead in the first half and led 30-21 at halftime.
Robert Morris (2-2), which was routed by Ohio State in its opener and then beat two lower division opponents for its two victories, got as close as six points, 41-35, at the 12:41 mark of the second half.
Three minutes later, Camara made the play of the game, putting a Robert Morris defender on a poster with a one-handed slam to extend Dayton’s lead to eight points. Holmes dunked on the next possession off an assist by Camara. Then Camara hit a 3-pointer to give Dayton a 13-point lead.
Robert Morris made four 3-pointers in the final eight minutes to keep the score respectable, but this was never a game Dayton was in danger of losing.
“We got the W,” said forward Mustapha Amzil, who scored 12 points. “That’s the biggest thing. There are some things we’ve got to get better at, but there were a lot of good things we can take from this game. I feel like we’re going to be pretty good coming into the game against Wisconsin.”
WEDNESDAY’S GAME
Dayton vs. Wisconsin, 2:30 p.m., ESPN Networks, 1290, 95.7
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