The victory clinched the second outright Atlantic 10 Conference championship in Dayton history and the first since 2017. It’s Grant’s first in three years as Dayton’s coach. Landers book-ended his career with championships, while the fifth-year senior Mikesell made history as the first Flyer to play for three conference champions.
The night had a bit of everything — ESPN announcing "College GameDay" will visit campus on March 7, Obi Toppin making another statement in the race for the national player of the year awards and Dayton producing the second-best shooting performance in school history (34 of 47, 72.3 percent) — but the A-10 championship meant the most to the big picture.
Unlike in 2017, when Dayton clinched the championship by beating Virginia Commonwealth in its last home game, the Flyers elected to not cut down the nets after this victory.
“We’re not done,” said Toppin, who had 23 points and 12 rebounds. “We’ve got two more games. We’ve got a road game Wednesday (at Rhode Island) and then George Washington on Saturday. We didn’t want to jinx anything. Our last home game is next Saturday, so we’re going to wait until then to do it, I think.”
Grant said Dayton didn’t debate whether to cut down the nets. It didn’t need that moment on this night. The postgame celebration, especially the hugs Grant handed out to everyone, will be remembered for a long time.
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Dayton (27-2, 16-0) clinched the championship with its 18th straight victory. The winning streak is the second-longest winning streak in school history, and it’s tied for the fourth longest in A-10 history. UD needs one more victory to tie the school record for victories in a season.
The championship comes two years after a 14-17 season. That was the first losing season for the program in 11 years.
“It means a lot,” Grant said. “Just understanding the journey. For Trey and Ryan as seniors, to see them be able to do this during their senior year with the difficulties they’ve gone through individually and as a team. For our other upperclassmen, with Obi and Jalen (Crutcher), just the struggles in year one, being able to go through those growing pains and understanding it was going to be about the process. We had to stay the course and buy in.”
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All that was going through Grant’s mind, he said, as he hugged his assistant coaches and the players. He also thanked the crowd of 13,407 fans, the 13th of a school-record 14 sold-out crowds to see Dayton at UD Arena this season. The Flyers improved to 16-0 at home.
“The support we get from our fan base and student body has been unbelievable all year,” Grant said. “They’re a big part of the excitement in those hugs. We get a chance to enjoy that with them. it was a great crowd tonight. A lot of excitement in the building. We’re just happy to clinch it outright, which is one of our goals. We met that goal, but our focus continues to be on the opportunities that lie in front of us.”
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
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