“That’s going to be so fun,” Brea said in July. “I remember my first year going to Fordham but because of COVID we weren’t able to have anybody come to the game, and then last year, they came here to Dayton so it was harder for my people to come out. But this year, there’s no excuse for nobody, so it’s going to be super exciting just to see so many familiar faces.”
Brea started and scored five points in 15 minutes in a 55-54 loss at Fordham in 2021. In that game, after a go-ahead basket by Dayton’s Elijah Weaver, Chris Austin made a 3-pointer with 24 seconds remaining to give Fordham the lead. Ibi Watson then missed a jump shot at the buzzer as Fordham ended a 16-game losing streak to Dayton, beating the Flyers for the first time since Jan. 4, 2006.
That was one of only two victories for Fordham in the 2020-21 season. It fired coach Jeff Neubauer that season and finished 16-16 last season under Kyle Neptune, who left to become the head coach at Villanova.
With Keith Urgo taking over for Neptune, Fordham piled up victories this season in part because of the easiest non-conference in the country. Its schedule ranked 363rd out of 363 Division I teams in difficulty, according to KenPom.com. It beat six teams ranked below 300.
Since starting A-10 play, Fordham has lost 57-43 at home to Davidson and 82-79 at Rhode Island and beaten Saint Joseph’s 66-54 at Rose Hill Gym.
Fordham ranks last in the A-10 in 3-point shooting (16 of 79, 20.3%) through three games. It overcame an early 12-point deficit to beat Saint Joseph’s.
“Saint Joe’s came in here and punched us in the mouth in the first 10 minutes, honestly,” Urgo said. “They put us on our heels a little bit, and that’s something we’ve got to continue to work on. We’ve talked about getting off to better starts. The last two games, we’ve gotten off to slow starts, and our energy as a result on the defensive end has has been affected. The key tonight was our slow start offensively did not affect our defensive effort.”
Dayton takes a six-game winning streak into this game. It sits alone in first place. It has a one-game lead over six 2-1 teams: Saint Louis; Richmond; George Mason; Virginia Commonwealth; Saint Bonaventure; and George Washington. A-10 newcomer Loyola Chicago and Saint Joseph’s (both 0-3) are the only winless teams.
Although Brea will get to play in his hometown for the second time, the status of Dayton’s other Bronx native, Malachi Smith, is unknown. Coach Anthony Grant has not set a timetable for the return of Smith and Kobe Elvis from injuries. They have not played since Nov. 25 and have missed nine straight games.
“I don’t know when they’ll return,” Dayton forward DaRon Holmes II said last week, “but know they’re progressing pretty well and they’re being positive. The thing that stands out to a lot of us is how much they still support the team and how much they’re putting in even though they’re not on the court with us. They still being great leaders.”
This game comes six days after Dayton beat Saint Joseph’s 76-56 at UD Arena. The Flyers don’t get another extended break until mid-February. Grant gave the players Thursday off last week, and they returned to practice Friday.
Dayton has played the last four games with only eight available players, including walk-ons, because of injuries. It ranks near the bottom of the country (337th) in bench minutes with the starters playing nearly 77% of the total minutes. On the plus side, Grant sees the current roster developing a rhythm.
“Obviously, we’re limited in terms of guys who are available,” Grant said Wednesday. “We’re trying to make sure we maximize the time that we have on the court with them and make sure we’re prepared for what’s coming. We get a little bit of a break here. We don’t play this weekend. We play Tuesday. So we’ve got to make sure we do a good job of managing these next few days and make sure we get prepared for the next one on Tuesday and (the games will) come pretty regularly after that for a while.”
Credit: David Jablonski
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