‘This is a special group’ — Grant in awe of of Flyers after win vs. VCU

The No. 25 Dayton Flyers got the memo and wore red jerseys, instead of their typical home whites, for the game against Virginia Commonwealth. Everyone matched. The Senior Day ceremony had emotional moments as always with Zimi Nwokeji, the last member of the 2019-20 roster, walking onto the court with his family, along with Kobe Elvis and C.J. Napier.

Dayton had everything going for it — and then the game started.

VCU couldn’t miss a shot. Dayton often couldn’t even get a shot, committing six turnovers in the first 10 minutes. Dayton coach Anthony Grant, not known for calling many timeouts, called one with 10 minutes, 5 seconds remaining in the first half after an 8-0 run by the Rams stretched their lead to 26-9. VCU has dominated the series against Dayton for years and appeared on its way to a fourth straight victory against the Flyers at UD Arena.

Dayton had other thoughts.

“I looked at the team, and I was like, ‘We’re good,’” Dayton guard Koby Brea said. “I have a lot of confidence in this team. I feel like no deficit is impossible for us to overcome. When we saw that happen, that’s when we really really got close. In those moments, when we really need each other and things aren’t going well, that’s when we get the tightest. From there, on the rest is history.”

Brea skipped over all the good parts with the last part of his summation — the go-ahead 3-pointer by Nate Santos in the second half, the missed 3 by VCU’s Zeb Jackson in the final seconds of the second half and the game-tying and go-ahead 3-pointers by Kobe Elvis in overtime — but his team did make history with a 91-86 victory.

Here’s what the result means:

• Dayton won on Senior Night for the 13th straight season to finish the regular season 24-6. That’s the second-best record in Grant’s seven seasons. It’s tied for the second-best regular-season record in the last 15 seasons. The Flyers also finished 24-6 in 2016 and 2017.

“I’ll tell you what I told the team,” Grant said in his postgame press conference. “I’m in awe of our group. This is a special group. What these guys have had to persevere through all year, the pride they showed, the character they’ve shown, the ups and downs through the good, the bad, the adversity, the prosperity, through all of it. And then to come out tonight with VCU, and take my hat off to them, they played an outstanding game tonight. To be down 17 and never waver. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and that’s about as gritty as a performance I’ve seen in my 30-plus years of coaching.”

• Dayton won all 15 games it played at UD Arena this season. It’s the fourth time the Flyers have posted a perfect record at home. They were 17-0 at UD Arena in the 2019-20 and 2014-15 seasons and 18-0 in 2009.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Brea said, “because of the commitment that they’ve given to us, just being there supporting us the whole time. For us to give them something to be proud of, to be undefeated at home and protect our house is super important.”

• Dayton beat VCU in Dayton for the first time since 2020 after losses in 2021, 2022 and 2023. It also beat VCU on Senior Night in 2016 and 2017.

“It’s always a battle against them,” Brea said. “We always get their best. They always get our best. It’s a rivalry. When we were down 17, we just found a way to come close together and figure it out. We have each other’s backs and understand that we can come back from anything. We’ve done it before.”

Dayton’s comeback started with an 8-0 run in a four-minute span. Jump shots by Brea and Enoch Cheeks, followed by a Santos 3-pointer and a free throw by DaRon Holmes II cut VCU’s lead to 26-17 at the 5:54 mark.

VCU pushed its lead back to double digits, 34-21, on a 3-pointer by Kuany Kuany at the 3:44 mark. Five straight points by Santos, who carried Dayton with 17 points in the half, cut into the VCU advantage, and Holmes dunked at the 1:57 mark for his first field goal. The Flyers got as close as five points in the final minute and trailed 38-31 at halftime.

“Certainly, we got off to a good start knowing full well it wasn’t going to stay like that,” said first-year VCU coach Ryan Odom, who first experienced UD Arena as an assistant coach on Bobby Lutz’s staff at Charlotte in 2010 and 2012. “We had to keep grinding, keep playing, knowing that they were going to come fast and furious at us, and certainly they did.”

Dayton committed nine turnovers in the first 20 minutes but only five in the last 25 minutes: the second half and overtime. That allowed it to keep chipping away at the VCU lead. It also got hot from the 3-point arc, making 9 of 14 3-pointers after halftime.

A 3 by Brea cut VCU’s lead to 62-61 at the 6:43 mark. Santos made a 3 on Dayton’s next possession to give it the lead for the first time.

VCU didn’t flinch, though, and kept making big shots of its own. It took a 70-66 lead only to have Enoch Cheeks and Brea tie the game with back-to-back baskets at the 2:31 and 1:35 marks. Neither team scored in the final minute with Brea missing a go-ahead jumper with 11 seconds to play and Jackson missing a game-winning shot in the final seconds.

VCU beat Dayton with a 5-0 run in the last 28 seconds at UD Arena last season and won on a 3-pointer with six seconds to play two years ago on Tom Blackburn Court. Everyone in the building must have experienced flashbacks as Jackson attempted the shot. Brea thought differently.

“We knew this game was going to be ours,” he said.

There were six lead changes in overtime. Jackson made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:21 to play. Then Elvis tied the game on a 3 at the 1:09 mark. On Dayton’s next possession, Cheeks, making his second start at point guard in the place of the injured Javon Bennett, pushed the pace and passed ahead to Elvis, who gave Dayton an 83-80 lead on a 3-pointer with 43 seconds to play.

From there, Dayton clinched the victory by making 8 of 10 free throws. VCU still made it difficult with two 3s in the final 11 seconds.

Holmes led Dayton with 23 points in what could have been his final home as a Flyer. Santos finished with 21. Brea, who like Santos made four 3s, scored 18. Elvis had 15. Cheeks scored 14. The five starters scored all 91 points. They made 12 of 22 3-pointers.

“I’m in some way speechless because that was a heck of a fight by our group tonight,” Grant said. “That was that was special.”

THURSDAY’S GAME

Dayton vs. TBA, 7:30 p.m., USA Network, 95.7, 1290