Javon Bennett hits a three as Capital coach Damon Goodwin watches. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Julie McMaken Wright)
With the University of Dayton expected to easily dismantle DIII Capital, Flyers coach Anthony Grant rested starters Enoch Cheeks and Zed Key the entire game so he could experiment with different lineup combinations and it worked as the Frenchman, Amael L’Etang led the Flyers to a 76-55 win with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Dayton, OH. — As expected, the University of Dayton committed a Capital offense Saturday night in UD Arena.
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The Flyers took a night off from playing DI teams to show DIII Capital University how the big boys play.
The Flyers flogged Capital, 76-55. And if anybody believes that a 21-point DI win over a DIII is nothing to belch about, well UD Coach Anthony Grant rested two of his starters, Enoch Cheeks and Zed Key.
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Neither played a single second and while rest was mentioned it most likely also had something to do with Grant not wanting to totally embarrass Capital coach Damon Goodwin.
Grant and Goodwin are former UD teammates and close friends. How close? Goodwin’s first son is named Grant.
And there is no doubt Grant granted Goodwin the game to give Capital a nice paycheck, but there was never a doubt that Goodwin wouldn’t take his 451st career coaching victory back to Columbus.
In a strange twist, Capital’s loss counts on UD’s record as one of the 31 allowed regular season games. But Capital chose to make it an exhibition game. It is the school’s perogotive because it is a DIII program playing a DI school.
Nate Santos takes aim for one of his three three-pointers.
So the loss won’t go on Capital’s 2-0 record while the win pushed UD to 4-0.
And Capital isn’t the usual DIII dessert for DI teams. Under Goodwin’s 30 years as head coach, the Comets (formerly Crusaders but the school changed the name under political correctness pressure} have won six Ohio Athletic Conference titles and Goodwin has been OAC Coach of the Year six times.
He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at UD under Oliver Purnell, began his head coaching career at nearby Fairborn High School, then was an assistant at Wittenberg before taking over Capital for the 1994-95 season.
“It was great tonight to get some different guys on the floor to get some game experience,” said Grant. “Damon had his team well-prepared and they tested us in some areas we needed to see.
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“We were able to get different combinations on the floor, which was good,” he added. “For me it is all about continuing to grow and build our depth.
“And we were able to get some guys some rest (Cheeks and Key), which is good as well as we prepare for next week.”
Hamad Mousa drives for a lefthanded layup over Capital’s Se’Ron Calloway-White.
Next week is the Maui Classic and a first-round date with North Carolina, after the Flyers tune-up Wednesday against New Mexico State in UD Arena.
With Cheeks and Key sitting on blue chairs as observers the entire game, newcomer Amael L’Etang, the 7-foot-1 Frenchman, used his distinct height advantage over the much shorter Capitalists.
“I wanted to give some rest to some guys and I wanted to see some other combinations on the floor,” Grant explained.
L’Etang started, along with 6-foot-10 Kettering Alter product Jacob Conner. In a little more than 17 minutes, L’Etang produced a double-double — 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Of his start, L’Etang said, “That was my first start and it was huge. I had my family here, my father and my sister, and I’m grateful for that.
“There are a lot of aspects in which I can do better,” he added. “I think I had a pretty good game, though.”
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One of his baskets came when he stole a pass, dribbled the length of the floor and slam-dunked.
“I have to watch that (on video) because actually I can’t re alize what I did,” he said. “But it was good.”
Connor played 26 minutes and produced 10 points and five rebounds.
Frenchman Amael L’Etang blocks a shot by Alex Eyink, a Marion Local product.
The familiar face in the lineup belong to shooting guard Javon Bennett and he led the Flyers with 16 points and five assists,
And playing with L’Etang gave Bennett a glimpse of what might be, although the skinny L’Etang needs to eat a bag of croissants and other French pastry every day to bulk up.
“He is very skilled,” said Bennett. “He can pass, he can shoot, he’s lengthy. Being able to use his skills, especially against other bigs, he’ll be able to learn a lot. He should be able to flourish under our system.”
So how did Bennett handle it, knowing it was DIII Capital and not DI North Carolina.
“To me it was like any game,” he said. “We saw it was on the schedule and we obviously know they’re a DIII team, but we played like we normally play a DI team. We thought of it as a way of preparing ourselves for what lies ahead, especially in Maui.”
It seemed as if Bennett was hell-bent on picking up any scoring slack left with the absence of Cheeks and Key.
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“Yeah and no,” he said. “I was taking shots I know I can make (6 for 12 and 2 for 5 from three). “The guys have confidence in me when I shoot the ball. It was a day where they happened to fall.”
Capital’s roster was full of kids who grew up close enough to Dayton to know implicitly what they were getting into.
Makai Grant, the coach’s kid, scores his first collegiate basket.
There was Darryl Cooper from Miamisburg, Alex Eyink from Maria Stein (Marion Local) and Justin Nixon from Minster. McKane Finkenbine from Anna was on the injured list on the bench.
Cooper, a 6-3 guard, led Capital with 18 points and made four threes. Eyink added 14 and Nixon contributed seven points and seven rebounds.
Despite the 21-point win, like all coaches, Grant found some weaknesses to discuss.
“We got challenged in some areas tonight,” he said. “Capital did a great job on the glass (although the Flyers won the board battle, 44-35, although Capital grabbed 14 offensive rebounds.}
“And they made nine baskets in the second half and seven of ‘em were threes,” Grant added. “A lot of ‘em were off of bad help. We collapsed too much on dribble penetration. We will be able to teach off of that.”
There was a moment that brought a broad smile to Grant’s face. With 1:45 left in the game, Grant’s walk-on son, Makai Grant, squirmed under the rim for a difficult reverse lay-up, his first collegiate basket.
The Arena inhabitants emitted their loudest cheer of the night and the UD bench erupted with a celebratory response.
And dad was proud and said, “That was awesome. And as a dad I was happy I was able to witness that. It was great to see the response of his teammates, the crowd and. . .yes, I enjoyed it. He made a nice cut, took a great pass, great finish.”
Isaac Jack does his best to stop Minster’s Justin Nixon.
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