Uhl has a unusually specific role for No. 16 Dayton (20-4, 10-2). At the end of the first half, if Dayton has fouls to give without putting the other team at the free-throw line and wants to trim the shot clock to mark it more difficult for opponents to score in the final seconds, Uhl enters the game.
“I’m always ready,” Uhl said earlier this season. “Coaches are always saying, ‘Stay locked in.’”
Uhl filled his role to perfection Tuesday during a 75-59 victory against Duquesne at UD Arena. He entered the game with 18 seconds remaining. Dayton had committed only two fouls at that point, so it could commit four more non-shooting fouls before Duquesne would get a chance to shoot 1-and-1s on the seventh foul.
Duquense also had a fresh shot clock, so it could play for the final shot of the half. Uhl waited until six seconds remained to commit his first foul. He committed his second foul immediately after the ensuing in-bounds pass.
The third foul was more difficult. Duquesne guard Jimmy Clark III knew it was coming and tried to get off a shot at the same time as Uhl was committing the foul, but the official ruled the foul came before the shot.
Uhl, his job done, left the game at that point. Duquesne then took the ball out of bounds with 2.7 seconds remaining. The Dukes still scored. Clark beat Kobe Elvis along the baseline as a teammate picked Koby Brea. He scored on a wide-open layup to cut Dayton’s halftime lead to 36-33.
Asked after the game about Uhl’s performance, Dayton coach Anthony Grant said, “He understood the assignment. He did a great job. Unfortunately, we didn’t finish it for him. That was a frustrating end to the half.”
Uhl had the same assignment at the end of the first half in games against Saint Louis, Oakland and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Each time he fouled in the final seconds, and the opponent didn’t score at the buzzer.
It’s a small niche for Uhl, but it gives him a chance to play meaningful minutes. He has scored 15 points, in part by making 3 of 4 3-pointers, but that production has come at the end of games already decided. It was a different story last year when he made a 3-pointer to ignite a Dayton run in a victory against Saint Joseph’s in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.
Uhl is filling his new role as a scholarship player. Dayton awarded the former walk-on a scholarship in January, surprising him during practice.
“I had no idea it was coming,” Uhl said. “Coach just started talking about me. Then I got mobbed. It was a pretty special moment.”
Uhl had already paid his tuition for this semester, but UD told him the money would be reimbursed. He called his parents soon after practice ended. His dad Bill Uhl Jr. and grandfather Bill Uhl Sr. were also scholarship players for Dayton.
“My dad was a little emotional,” Uhl said. “My mom was very excited. It was just happiness.”
A-10 update: Two results Wednesday changed the look at the top of the Atlantic 10 Conference standings.
• Richmond (17-7, 9-2) fell from first place to third place with a 69-59 loss at home to Massachusetts (16-8, 7-5). UMass ended Richmond’s 12-game winning streak at the Robins Center. The Minutemen had lost six straight games at the arena since 2012.
• Loyola Chicago (18-7, 10-2) beat visiting Saint Joseph’s 64-59 to jump Richmond and move into a first-place tie with Dayton. The Ramblers have won five games in a row.
Defending champion Virginia Commonwealth (16-8, 8-3) is the other top contender for the regular-season championship. VCU is 3-0 against the other top teams with home victories against Loyola, Dayton and Richmond.
Record book update: Dayton forward DaRon Holmes II scored 24 points Tuesday. He now has 1,543 points in his career. He ranks 18th in school history. He passed Keith Waleskowski (1,515) in the last game and Ryan Perryman (1,524) and Ramod Marshall (1,538) in this game.
Holmes was one of 30 players from across the nation named to the Naismith Trophy Men’s College Player of the Year Midseason Team on Thursday.
March update: The NCAA bracket preview show will air at 12:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS. The Division Men’s Basketball Committee will share its current list of the top 16 seeds one month before Selection Sunday.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had Dayton as the No. 16 overall seed on Tuesday but moved Creighton into that spot on Wednesday.
About the Author
