Dayton point guard will miss rest of season with knee injury

“We are saddened and heartbroken for Malachi,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said in a press release.  “He worked extremely hard to recover from off-season (ankle) surgeries to have the opportunity to compete with his teammates this season. Although he, and we, are disappointed, we remain positive and prayerful that he will recover fully and return healthy next season for himself, his teammates and the Flyer Faithful.”

Smith banged knees with a defender on a drive to the hoop in the first half. He stayed on the court for one play but motioned to the bench that he needed to leave the game during a clock stoppage. He left the game after playing seven minutes and did not return. He spent the rest of the game in the locker room.

The injury leaves Dayton with 11 scholarship players for the season. One candidate to take Smith’s place in the starting lineup is sophomore guard Javon Bennnett, a transfer from Merrimack. He had five points and six assists in the 63-57 victory against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The Flyers return to action Friday at Northwestern.

It’s the latest setback in an injury-plagued career for Smith, a junior guard who’s the brother of former Flyer Scoochie Smith. Having played only one game, he would be eligible for a medical redshirt and would have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Smith battled ankle injuries throughout his first two seasons. He injured his left ankle in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament as a freshman in 2022. He hurt the right ankle in practice last October. After missing the first four games of the season, he played in four games but sprained his left ankle in the final moments of the second half on Nov. 25 during a 79-75 overtime loss to Brigham Young in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Smith missed 11 games but returned to play in 15 of the final 16 games. He injured the left ankle once more in a game against St. Bonaventure but missed only one game. Although he made it through the season, he was in pain the whole way.

Smith underwent one went ankle reconstruction surgery in April and another 10 weeks later in May.