Scoochie’s younger brother, Dayton redshirt junior guard Malachi Smith, did not know his brother got to play at Rose Hill four times, but he did know he had never gotten the chance until Wednesday.
Malachi would have played there as a senior at the St. Raymond School for boys in 2020, but the pandemic cost him the end of that season and a potential postseason game at Rose Hill. In 2023, Smith was fighting his way back from an ankle injury and wasn’t ready for action when Dayton played at Fordham in early January. Instead, Dayton’s other New York native, Koby Brea, starred in that homecoming game, scoring 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting from 3-point range.
The Smith brothers are proud Bronx natives. Playing in their hometown gives them extra incentive. Malachi said he had close to 60 people there rooting for him Wednesday.
“It felt good to be home in front of my friends and family,” Malachi said.
Those good feelings led to his best performance in weeks. Smith scored 18 points in a 93-76 victory, making 3 of 3 3-pointers and 4 of 8 2-point field goals. He tallied five assists and one turnover as Dayton (17-8, 7-5) bounced back from a 73-68 loss to Virginia Commonwealth on Friday at UD Arena. The Flyers have won five straight games against Fordham.
“We took a tough loss last week,” Smith said. “We had that game. So we were trying to come out and get the dub (victory). We’ve got six more games left. That’s all we can do.”
Credit: David Jablonski
The Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season race continues to be dominated by George Mason (20-5, 11-1) and VCU (19-5, 9-2). Facing a four-game deficit with six games to play, it’s clear Dayton will not win the regular-season championship for the seventh time in coach Anthony Grant’s eight seasons.
The best Dayton can hope for now is recording a top-four finish for the fourth straight season. That would give it a double bye to the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament and improve its chances of winning an event it hasn’t won since 2003.
By beating Fordham, Dayton moved into a tie for third place with Saint Louis (14-11, 7-5), which lost 76-74 in overtime Tuesday at home against George Mason. Saint Joseph’s (15-9, 6-5) and Loyola Chicago (15-9, 6-5) sit a half game back.
Dayton had extra reasons to win at Fordham on Wednesday elsewhere on the roster. Fifth-year guard Posh Alexander is also a Bronx native who attended the Our Saviour Lutheran School. Zed Key is from Bay Shore, N.Y., 44 miles away on Long Island.
Those players were responsible for three baskets in a 7-0 run that broke open a three-point game in the second half.
• Key backed down Fordham’s Matt Zona in the paint and scored on a short hook shot with 11 minutes, 56 seconds to play.
• On Dayton’s next possession, Alexander beat his defender with a crossover dribble behind the 3-point line and scored on a layup.
• Minutes later, after the game was delayed by a roof leak in the 100-year-old gym, Alexander made a 3-pointer with a defender in his face, giving Dayton a 70-60 lead, its largest of the game, with 9:48 to play.
With Smith scoring 18, Key tallying 14 and Alexander eight, Dayton’s New York natives combined for 40 points. Each had their own cheering section. Alexander shared a photo on Instagram after the game of himself in the stands with his girlfriend Aniyah Soto and son A’Miri, who was born last July.
“It’s always nice when you come home in front of your family and friends,” Grant said. “Between Malachi and Zed and Posh, I thought all three of them did a really good job tonight. They played within the system. They understood the assignment in terms of trying to come out and win the game. All three of them played really well.”
Dayton won the game in part because it played better defense in the second half. Fordham shot 61.5% (16 of 26) from the field in the first half and 37% (10 of 27) in the second half.
The game was tied at 48-48 at halftime and 55-55 four minutes into the second half. Dayton took the lead on a layup by Smith with 15 minutes, 52 seconds to play and didn’t trail again.
“Dayton played a really aggressive game,” Fordham coach Keith Urgo said. “It was a tight game. Inside the last 10 minutes, they made the winning plays. They made the extra-effort plays.”
Dayton shot 50% (11 of 22) from 3-point range. It was the fourth time this season Dayton has shot 50% or better. Amaël L’Etang made a 3 on Dayton’s first possession of the game and scored Dayton’s first seven points. He finished with 11.
Alexander has made two 3s in the last three games after not making more than one all season before this stretch.
“They shot the lights out,” Urgo said “Some of the guys hadn’t been shooting the way they shot tonight. Some of the guys we would like to be the ones shooting the 3s, they made some big shots.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Duquesne at Dayton, 2:30 p.m., USA Network, 1290, 95.7
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
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