Two fans unfurled a large UD banner during the first half. More fans showed off a different banner after Dayton’s 89-76 victory against Florida Atlantic.
Many of the fans didn’t have to travel far for the first-round game in the National Invitation Tournament. Some lived in South Florida. Others happened to be on vacation in the area.
Back home, fans disappointed about the program falling short of the NCAA tournament for the sixth time in coach Anthony Grant’s eight seasons expressed the opinion that Dayton should not have accepted a bid.
“Yay! The Not Invited Tournament!” one fan wrote.
For Dayton, the decision to play was not a difficult one. Five other Atlantic 10 Conference teams received invitations. No one from the A-10 declined a bid, though Ohio State, Indiana and other schools from higher-ranked conferences elected not to continue their seasons in the NIT or the new tournament, the College Basketball Crown.
Athletic Director Neil Sullivan called it a “straightforward decision” to play in the tournament for the 28th time. Dayton received a bid Sunday night, three days after losing 73-68 in overtime to Saint Joseph’s in the A-10 quarterfinals.
“We don’t take anything for granted,” Grant said after the game. “In life, you’ve got to understand who you are and understand you’ve got to be grateful for every opportunity you get. Nothing’s promised.”
The players said it was an easy decision to play.
“Nobody wanted to end the season like that,” fifth-year forward Nate Santos said. “We just want to come out and compete and take advantage of the opportunity.”
“Coach told us any opportunity to keep playing, whether it’s in March Madness or the NIT, is a blessing,” junior guard Javon Bennett said.
Credit: David Jablonski
The decision to play gave Bennett a chance to play a college basketball game in his home state for the first time. He’s from Orlando, which is about 2½ hours north of Boca Raton.
Bennett made the most of the opportunity, scoring a career-high 30 points. He made 10 of 16 field goals, including 8 of 12 3-pointers. He reached his previous career high of 26 points as a freshman at Merrimack in March 2023.
Bennett became the first Flyer to score 30 or more points in a game since DaRon Holmes II scored 31 against St. Bonaventure on Feb. 2, 2024. He’s the first UD guard to score 30 since Ibi Watson had 30 against Grambling State on Dec. 23, 2019. The last Flyer to score 30 or more in a postseason game was Roosevelt Chapman, who had 41 against Oklahoma in the NCAA tournament in 1984.
“I felt good,” Bennett said. “In the second half, I came out hitting, and the guys were finding me.”
Bennett played in front of his parents, grandparents and a couple uncles, plus other family members.
“Javon’s a good player,” Grant said. “The shots fell. It was great. Obviously, he had his mom, dad and extended family here. For them to come see him play and for him to have that type of performance on that stage, it was awesome. I’m just happy for him.”
Bennett didn’t know until after the game how close he was to the record. He didn’t take another 3 after tying the record.
Norm Grevey still owns the Dayton record with nine made 3s in a game. He set the record against Bradley on Dec. 22, 1990. Bennett joined Shawn Haughn (1994) and Josh Parker (2011) on the list of Flyers who have made eight 3s in a game.
Bennett had help in the box score. Santos had 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Enoch Cheeks scored 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting. Isaac Jackt, who did not play in the las six games after undergoing an appendectomy, scored six points in his first appearance since Feb. 15.
Dayton made 13 of 30 3s (43.3%), while Florida Atlantic made 9 of 22 (40.9%).
Dayton built a 44-38 halftime lead and led 44-40 early in the second half. Bennett then made two straight 3s to push the lead to double digits for the first time. The Flyers led by as many as 19 points.
Florida Atlantic got as close as five points in the final minute before Dayton sealed the game at the free-throw line.
First-year coach John Jakus, who took over the program when Dusty May left for Michigan, said only two players on his roster had appeared in postseason games, not counting the American Athletic Conference tournament.
Two years after reaching the Final Four and one year after it lost in overtime in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Florida Atlantic (18-16) couldn’t take advantage of the home-court edge in front of a crowd of 1,846 at 2,500-seat Baldwin Arena.
“This was incredibly important for us and our players,” Jakus said, “and it’s something we were really excited to do. I love basketball, and I want to keep going, and I don’t want to shy away from challenges. I’m thankful for this challenge. Now the last thing I want to say is our expectations are higher than this.”
Dayton (23-9), the No. 1 seed in its eight-team region, advanced to play Chattanooga (25-9) at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Chattanooga won 109-103 in triple overtime Tuesday at Middle Tennessee State.
If Dayton wins Saturday, it will play No. 2 seed George Mason (27-8) or Bradley (27-8) in the quarterfinals at UD Arena on Tuesday or Wednesday next week. George Mason beat Samford 86-69 on Wednesday. Bradley beat North Alabama 71-62.
Teams that win three games in the NIT will advance to the semifinals at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on April 1. The championship game is April 3. Dayton last won the NIT in 2010.
“If we’re going to play in this, we’re going to try to win the whole thing,” Santos said.
SATURDAY’S GAME
Dayton at Chattanooga, 11:30 a.m., ESPN2, 95.7, 1290
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
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