The players noticed Bush, however, especially DaRon Holmes II.
“We pointed at each other a couple of times,” Holmes said. “We winked at each other. It was very cool.”
Bush’s Presidential Library is right across the street from the arena, and Laura Bush is a SMU graduate. The famous fans nearly got run over by Dayton guard Javon Bennett in the second half as he chased down a loose ball. The Secret Service did not have to step in.
Bush has been out of office for almost 15 years, and until Wednesday, it had been nearly half as long since Dayton had won a non-conference regular-season road game. A 65-63 victory against SMU ended an eight-game losing streak in those games. It’s the first victory of that type in Grant’s seven seasons, or second if you count a 2022 victory at Toledo in the first round of the NIT.
“Everybody’s saying coach Grant can’t get any non-conference road wins,” Holmes said, “and there you go, we just got one.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Here are three takeaways from Dayton’s seventh game:
1. The game came down to the final play: After Nate Santos missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 14 seconds to play, SMU had the ball and faced a 65-63 deficit.
Zhuric Phelps missed a layup with six seconds remaining. The Mustangs retained possession as the ball went out of bounds off Dayton with three seconds to go. During a timeout, Holmes said the message in the huddle was, “Get a stop and get a rebound.”
Phelps then missed a 3-pointer from the corner as time expired. He faked a shot as Enoch Cheeks defended, but Cheeks still had time to get a hand up. Santos also had a hand up along the baseline. The ball hit the front of the rim.
“We were going to trust our habits there,” Grant said. “They ran a really good play. Their guy got a decent look, but I thought we defended it pretty well.”
2. Dayton overcame a blistering start by SMU: The Mustangs (5-3) made their first seven shots to build a 14-11 lead. Cheeks kept Dayton close by making 3 of 3 3-pointers in the same span.
It was a close game throughout the 40 minutes. SMU’s biggest lead was seven points early in the second half. Dayton had its biggest lead, 65-60, entering the final minute.
There were 19 lead changes and five ties.
3. Dayton tried something new with its rotation: Holmes and Isaac Jack were on the court at the same time at several points for the first time this season. Holmes had 20 points and seven rebounds in 32 minutes. Jack had four points and two rebounds in 16 minutes.
“We’re seven games in, so this team is not the best version of itself,” Grant said. “We have to figure out how we can become that. It’s our job to figure out what that looks like as we try to win each game as we go through it and continue to get better. That’s all we’re trying to do.”
STAR OF THE GAME
Koby Brea scored 22 points for Dayton, making 8 of 13 field goals. He made his first five 3-point attempts and finished 6 of 8 from long range.
Brea broke a 60-60 tie on a short jump shot just before the shot clock expired with 1:47 to play. On Dayton’s next possession, he made a 3-pointer to give the Flyers a 65-60 lead entering the final minute.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
STAT OF THE GAME
Dayton made 10 of 20 3-pointers, while SMU made 5 of 22. In addition to Brea’s shooting, Enoch Cheeks made 3 of 6 3-pointers. DaRon Holmes II made his only attempt.
Dayton topped 50% from long range for the second time this season and made double-digit 3-pointers for the fourth time.
LOOKING AHEAD
Dayton plays Grambling State (2-5). at 2 p.m. Saturday at UD Arena. At No. 329 in the Ken Pomeroy ratings, Grambling is the lowest-ranked team on Dayton’s schedule. It has lost four games in a row and has not beaten a Division I team this season.
SATURDAY’S GAME
Grambling State at Dayton, 2 p.m., Bally Sports Ohio, 1290, 95.7
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