On Sunday, though, Elvis got another chance and made the most of it. He scored 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting and also had three assists in 16 minutes in Dayton’s 63-61 victory against Belmont in the championship game of the ESPN Events Invitational at HP Fieldhouse.
Elvis scored all his points in the first half as Dayton built a 31-27 lead. He played fewer than five minutes in the second half. It was still a big step for the DePaul transfer.
“I was ready to play,” Elvis said. “The coaches told me to just stay ready and mentally prepared and come in and impact the game.”
Big shot: Freshman guard Lynn Greer III almost made the most of limited minutes. He took only two shots but made a long 2-point field goal with 7:56 to play give Dayton a 54-45 lead, its largest lead of the last 10 minutes. Dayton needed the basket because Belmont ran off eight straight points in the next three-plus minutes.
“Anything I can do to contribute to the win is good,” Greer III said.
A call to remember: Larry Hansgen, the voice of the Flyers on WHIO Radio, has called all the big shots since the early 1980s and was on the microphone Friday, along with former Flyer Josh Postorino, who provided analysis, for Mustapha Amzil’s last-second shot against No. 4 Kansas.
Here’s their call transcribed:
“Penetrating, Smith to the rim,” Hansgen said. Shot is rejected. Picked up my Amzil. Mustapha fades away. It’s good! And Dayton has won! Dayton wins the game!
“Holy cow!” Postorino said.
“Mustapha Amzil with a prayer answered!” Hansgen said.
“Oh my god!” Postorino said.
“What a finish!” Hansgen said.
Hansgen said he’s just reacting in that type of situation and doesn’t plan what he’s going to say.
“If anything, my biggest fear is I said nothing,” he said. “It just is whatever comes out.”
Other games: No. 4 Kansas (5-1) won the third-place game Sunday, beating Iona 96-83. The Jayhawks outscored Iona 58-22 in the paint. In their loss in the semifinals, they tied Dayton 42-42 in the paint.
» MORE ON UD: Ranking biggest shots of Grant era
• North Texas (3-3) beat Drake 57-54 in the third-place game. Drake (3-3) beat one of the Atlantic 10 Conference’s best teams, Richmond, on its way to a 3-0 start entering this tournament. It was the only team to leave the event without a victory. It lost to Belmont and Alabama in the first two rounds.
• No. 10 Alabama, which lost 72-68 to Iona in the first round Thursday, ended the tournament by beating Drake 80-71 on Friday and the Miami Hurricanes 96-64 on Sunday in the fifth-place game.
Looking ahead: Dayton plays its next two games at home, facing Alabama State at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Northern Illinois at 2 p.m. Saturday.
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