DaRon Holmes II achieved his 10th double-double. (Press Pros File Photos)
After a sluggish start against Saint Louis, the University of Dayton basketball team rained 18 three-pointers into the nets in Chaifetz Arena to go rip-roaring past the Billikens, 100-83, in the Flyers final road test before completing their Atlantic 10 regular season Friday night in UD Arena against Virginia Commonwealth.
St. Louis, MO. — The University of Dayton basketball team was like a Ferrari on a below—freezing night Tuesday in Chaifetz Arena.
Hall of famer Hal McCoy writes UD Flyer basketball exclusively for Press Pros Magazine.com.
When they turned the ignition switch, the cold engine was slow to respond. But once it warmed up, it was all speed and no brakes.
After falling behind by seven points in the first few minutes to the Saint Louis Billikens, the Flyers stomped the accelerator and roared to a 100-83 victory.
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A 28-10 run in the final nine minutes of the first half gave the Flyers a 49-35 lead and it was all fun and games the rest of the way.
Highlights? Oh, so many, so many.
***The Flyers made 18 three-pointers and seven different Flyers hit at least one three-pointer — Koby Brea 5, Kobe Elvis 5, DaRon Holmes II 2, Nate Santos 2, Enoch Cheeks 2, Brady Uhl 1, Isaac Jack 1, Petras Pedegimas 1.
Kobe Elvis ran the show and scored 21 points.
***UD outrebounded the Billikens, 38-21, and grabbed 13 offensive boards.
***DaRon Holmes II scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, his 10th double-double, tops in the Atlantic 10.
***With point guard Javon Bennett seated in a chair dressed in civilian clothes, Koby Brea made his first start of the season and scored 21 points, making 5 of 8 three-pointers.
***With Bennett out, former walk-on and late scholarship awardee Brady Uhl played 10 minutes in the first half and hit a three and recorded an assist.
***All five UD starters scored in double figures — Holmes 25, Brea 21, Elvis 21, Cheeks 16 and Santos 10.
***The Flyers had 20 assists, five each by Holmes, Brea and Elvis.
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“With Javon Bennett not available tonight, we had some guys have to play different roles,” said UD coach Anthony Grant on his post-game show with Larry Hansgen.
“We got a great effort overall, a lot of good things,” he said. “It was very difficult. Gibson Jimmerson is a hard guard and he requires a lot of attention and a lot of energy.”
Koby Brea buried five three-pointers.
Jimmerson led the Billikens with 24 points, followed by senior Terrence Hargrove Jr. with 17 on some belligerent bolts to the basket.
“Hargrove. . .he’s a man,” said Grant. “He’s a tough competitor. We knew they’d run a lot of action towards those guys and we’d have to do a great job on them as a team. We did that well.”
Hargrove may be a man and a competitor, but the Flyers had a whole roster full of men and competitors on this night, a group that didn’t fold up and roll over when things began on the down-swing.
It was pure ugliness for the Flyers in the first four minutes.
It began with an Elvis offensive foul. Holmes turned it over via a foul. Santo shot an air ball three. Cheeks missed a three and UD was 0 for 6.
Holmes broke the spell with a basket under the hoop with 17:20 left in the half.
And Saint Louis built a 13-6 lead and Chaifetz was rockin’ and rollin’ as the fans sensed a huge upset by their 11-19 Billikens, 4-13 in the A-10.
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That’s when the Flyers floored it. They finally took the lead, 27-25, on a Brea three with 7 1/2 minutes left until intermission.
From there, the Flyers outgunned the Billikens, 22-10, to grab the 49-35 lead. There was an 11-0 run tucked in UD’s sprint-away.
Enoch Cheeks one of five double-figure scorers.
The victory lifted UD to a 23-6 record and solidified their hold on third place in the A-10 at 13-4.
With all the offensive firepower, 36 for 65 (55%) overall and 18 for 33 (55%) from three, UD coach Anthony Grant credited team defense for turning it around in the first half.
“It started with our defense and I thought our guys did a really good job of rebounding and getting out in transition,” said Grant.
“We had good ball movement and the guys did a tremendous job on the glass,” he added. “We had 11 offensive rebounds in the first half and all that was able to turn the tide for us.”
All four UD A-10 defeats came on the road and there was some trepidation. The Flyers only beat Saint Louis by five, 70-65, in UD Arena on January 6.
Nate Santo contributed 10 points and five rebounds.
“To be able to finish the road season in that fashion is good for our group,” said Grant. “These games are critical and we knew these games were going to be important. And I thought our guys responded well.”
The Flyers have one more assignment, a home game Friday night against Virginia Commonwealth, which was upset at home Tuesday night by 10 points to Duquesne.
“We’re excited about going home for our last season game with a chance to go undefeated at home (14-0 going in),” said Grant. “Those things are goals that we set and our guys have done a good job of chasing those goals. We have that in front of us and we’re looking forward to that.
“The disruption, with Javon being out. . .I’m really proud with the way the guys responded to go on the road and get a win like this.”
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