DaRon Holmes II doing his thing… adding a game high of 29 points. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Jule McMaken Wright)
It seems as if every team that comes to UD Arena to play the University of Dayton Flyers, they bring their ‘A’ game and force UD to stave off upsets. Such was the case Saturday afternoon when a forlorn Fordham team put the Flyers to a tough test before UD prevailed, 78-70, their 13th straight win this season in the Arena and 21st win this season.
Hall of famer Hal McCoy writes UD Flyer basketball exclusively for Press Pros Magazine.com.
Dayton, OH. — For some baffling reason, the University of Dayton basketball team has adopted the slogan, “Dayton Against The World.”
There are 1.5 billion people in India and 40,000 people in Liechtenstein who never heard of the Flyers and/or DaRon Holmes II.
It is more like, “Dayton Against The College Basketball World,” and the Flyers are more than holding their own against teams with heavy incentives to be dirty, rotten spoilers.
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On Saturday afternoon in UD Arena, it was “Dayton Against The Fordham Rams” and it was another wrist-chewer for the 16th-ranked Flyers because every opponent strides on to Blackburn Court armed and dangerous.
The Flyers held off plucky Fordham, 78-70, moving UD to 21-4, one of the best records in the land, and an 11-2 record in the Atlantic 10, good for first place, a half-game ahead of 10-2 Chicago Loyola.
Javon Bennett made six of seven shots, two for two from the three-point line for first-half 14 points.
The 18-4 Ramblers, spurred on by Sister Jean, their 104-year-old team chaplain, have a Sunday afternoon skirmish at Rhode Island and are top-heavy favorites to put the Rhodies away and draw into a tie with UD.
It is looking more and more as if Dayton’s trip to Chicago on March 1 to play Loyola could determine the A-10 regular-season champion.
But first things first and on Saturday the Flyers did their best Bachman-Turner Overdrive — Takin’ Care Of Business.
And it was business as usual for forlorn Fordham — 17 visits to UD Arena and 17 defeats as the Flyers defended their home wood for the 13th straight time this season.
“Coach (Anthony) Grant has a rule,” said Holmes. “We can’t lose at home.”
Said Grant, “It means a lot to protect our home court. Of the goals we set, that was one of them, to make sure we took care of our business at home.”
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But it wasn’t a stroll down the foul line. There were 10 lead changes and eight ties. And it was 66-66 with 6:22 left.
As usual, if fans checked their watches, they knew it was Holmes time.
The Flyers led, 44-35, at the half, but Fordham put on a rush and Holmes kept UD solvent by scoring 11 of his team’s first 13 second-half points to keep the Flyers in front, narrowly, 57-54.
Enoch Cheeks going up for two, contributing 12 for the Flyers.
When it was 66-66. Holmes scored nine of the final 12 points to give him 29 points on 10 of 13 shooting and 8 for 12 from the foul line.
“That’s just all trust from my teammates,” said Holmes. “My goal is to just get the win, so I’ll do whatever I can. I have to stay more consistent with things and be more of a winner.”
And Holmes was having fun. He blocked a three-point shot to start the late rally in front of the frenzied student section, pointed at them and broke into a smile as wide as the UD campus.
Late in the game, when he was at the foul line, the students chanted, “MVP, MVP,” and Holmes pumped his fists in unison. During another late trip to the foul line, he danced before knocking down two to give the Flyers a 77-70 lead with 40 seconds left.
The first half belonged to a guy who nearly didn’t play and it was a game-time decision for point guard Javon Bennett to start.
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He injured his ankle in the dwindling moments of Tuesday’s win over Duquesne and wore a protective medical boot right up until Friday night.
But he shed the boot and sporting a freshly-grown mustache, the 5-10, 155-pound whirling dervish made six of seven shots, two for two from the three-point line for 14 first-half points.
Nate Santos hits two of his 11 points in the win over Fordham.
Asked about his mustache, he said, “Yeah, you like it?”
When UD coach Anthony Grant was asked about Bennett’s Errol Flynn/Clark Gable look, he said, “Honestly? I didn’t even know he had a mustache. Does he have a mustache? Really? It’s new? OK, I’ll take your word for it.”
After scoring 14 in the first half, Bennett was scoreless in the second half, content to put the ball in the comfortable hands of Holmes.
“We know what Deuce can do and we have the ultimate confidence in him,” said Bennett. “He’s gonna help us win games. He is going to need the ball in certain positions for opportunities. We’re going to give them to him so we can win the game.”
And about the fun Holmes displays on the court while fighting off full-fledged assault and battery defenses, Grant said, “That’s great to see. That’s what it should be. Let me be the grumpy old man that’s locked in and focused.”
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And the team?
“Enjoy what you’re doing, enjoy it,” he said. “Have fun with it. It’s a game. I want them to enjoy it on a day when we didn’t play great.
“But they found themselves in a position where they are undefeated at home, you’ve got your 21st win, you control your destiny moving forward in terms of playing for a championship in the regular season and trying to get a No. 1 seed heading into the (A10) tournament,” he added.
Koby Brea hit two 3-pointers and had three assists.
“All the things that you have sacrificed and worked are in front of you. . .and that’s fun, that’s great. Enjoy that. The ability to be able to do that so it doesn’t distract what we have to do on the court, I’m all for it.”
Fordham played one of its best, if not the best, game of its torn asunder season.
“Teams get excited to come here and play,” said Grant. “Fordham played really well, played a really good basketball game today. Teams have an opportunity to come into this place with this environment. . .and as a competitor you relish that.
“So they stepped up, but our guys were able to answer the bell when Fordham gave us one of their best shots.”
So the Flyers’ pursuit of an Atlantic 10 championship is definitely a pursuit for happiness.
“It means a lot,” said Grant. “It means a lot, man. When you set goals, you want to achieve those goals. It means the world.That’s big. We get that goal and the other goals kind of step up and they fall in place for you.”
Fordham hung around by confusing the Flyers with an assortment of gimmicky defenses, plus the Rams knocked down nine threes and were 13 of 15 from the foul line.
The Flyers countered with some sharp-shooting — 27 for 47 (57.4%), 7 for 20 (35%) from three, although they were 1 for 9 from three in the second half. They saved the day by making 6 of 9 free throws down the stretch en route to 17 of 25 (68%) for the game.
And the way they have been playing, maybe those folks in India and Liechtenstein might start paying attention.
DaRon Holmes finished with a double-double adding 29 points and 10 rebounds for the Flyers win.
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