UD fans, on the other hand, would have used every chance they got.
“It was hard to get out of the arena without several of them grabbing me and asking me if we had signed the contract for the next home and home agreement yet,” Holtmann said in his postgame press conference. “But it’s something we’ll definitely consider. We love to play good teams — top-50 NET teams in home and homes, NCAA tournament teams. That’s what I believe this Dayton team will be this year.”
That matchup almost happened in the 2020-21 season, which was marked by COVID-related cancellations and last-minute schedule replacements.
“We multiple conversations when they were canceling games and we weren’t quite sure who to play,” Grant said, “and we were probably 24 hours away from having a game against them. (Holtmann) has always been really good in terms of his willingness to have that conversation.”
The charity exhibition game, played in front of a sold-out crowd of 13,407, was played to raise money for the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation, the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Ohio and other local organizations. According to a source, an estimated $500,000 was raised. That figure comes from ticket sales and private donations, including the $20,000 former Dayton star Obi Toppin donated to the Jay’s Light Foundation.
Ohio State won 78-70, though both coaches used the game to experiment with different combinations of players and to get newcomers minutes. Dayton, for instance, didn’t play its star, junior forward DaRon Holmes II, in the final 16 minutes.
Holmes scored all 10 of his points in the first half. He made a 3-pointer on Dayton’s first possession, missed his second attempt but made another 3 four minutes into the game. Holmes made 6 of 19 3s last season, never making more than one in a game, after making 1 of 7 as a freshman.
“He’s been working on it the whole summer with AG,” Dayton junior point guard Malachi Smith said. “He’s just trying to add to his game. I think he got feedback (in the NBA Combine), and they told him what he needed to do, and he worked on it as much as he could. I think it’s going to show this year.”
Holmes also committed four turnovers, including two travels in the first half. He started alongside Smith and Kobe Elvis, two returning guards, with two newcomers: Robert Morris transfer Enoch Cheeks and Pittsburgh transfer Nate Santos.
Cheeks scored all his points, 17, in the first half. He made 5 of 5 3-pointers.
“I had some open looks,” Cheeks said. “It’s just shooting. I do it every single day. My teammates inspire me. I was just happy to make them today.”
Dayton made 12 of 32 3-pointers (37.5%). That would have tied for its sixth-best 3-point shooting percentage last season and was one of its season high. It twice made 13 3s a season ago.
“I thought Cheeks did a good job of taking what the defense gave him and being aggressive,” Grant said. “I thought we had other guys that had looks that just didn’t go in tonight, but they’re more than capable of making those looks as well.”
Perhaps, the most important takeaway from this game is Dayton entered the game with all 12 of its scholarship players available and healthy, including Smith and Koby Brea, who both underwent surgeries in the spring. Smith had four points, four assists and three turnovers in 22 minutes. Brea played 20 minutes and made 1 of 4 3-pointers.
“I think we played good overall,” Smith said. “We’re all competitors. It stings a little bit to lose. ... But this was an exhibition. The record is still 0-0.”
The Flyers built an early 8-2 lead and had a 29-25 advantage with seven minutes to play in the first half. Ohio State, led by Bruce Thornton, who scored 21, and Jamison Battle, who had 15 points, led 42-39 at halftime.
Ohio State opened the second half with a 10-4 run. Dayton answered with a 9-0 run to tie the game with freshman guard Marvel Allen scoring the final four points in that stretch at the free-throw line. Dayton sophomore guard Javon Bennett, a transfer from Merrimack, recorded three of his four steals during that run.
“He’s definitely a good defender,” Smith said. “He’s very pesty.”
After tying the game at 52-52 at the 12:28 mark, Dayton gave up an 8-0 run in the next two minutes. Roddy Gayle Jr. made a 3-pointer. Thornton followed with a 3 and then another basket. The Buckeyes led the rest of the way.
Santos led Dayton in rebounding with seven. The Flyers had a 33-30 rebounding edge. Petras Padegimas led Dayton’s three-man freshman class with eight points.
This was the first of two exhibition games for Dayton before the season opener Nov. 6 against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. It plays Cedarville University at 2 p.m. Saturday at UD Arena.
“I think this was practice number 18,” Grant said. “We got a chance to have a practice with an unfamiliar opponent so we can learn more about ourselves, and we got to have a practice in front of 13,000-plus. That’s a great learning experience. We have a lot of young guys. It’s their first time either in our system or some of them in college basketball and, and to see them and how they react to different situations and where we are in terms of our habits, where we are in terms of our understanding of our system on both sides of the ball, this is a good measuring stick. I thought we had guys who tried to play together. They tried to play to the habits that we’ve been trying to create in practice. Sometimes we did well, and sometimes we didn’t, but I didn’t see where we were way off from what we’re trying to do.”
Credit: David Jablonski
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