Nate Santos launches a three-pointer. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Julie McMaken Wright)
After a stellar showing in the Maui Invitational that included a win over No. 2-ranked UConn, the University of Dayton Flyers hosted a mediocre Western Michigan team Tuesday night in UD Arena as 24-point favorites, but had to come from 10 points down early in the second half to score a lethargic and lackadaisical, 77-69 victory.
Hall of famer Hal McCoy writes UD Flyer basketball exclusively for Press Pros Magazine.com.
Dayton, OH — After displaying that they can play with the big boys in the Maui Invitational, including their obliteration of No. 2-ranked UConn, it would have been child’s play for the University of Dayton Flyers to lollygag Tuesday night.
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Take it easy, slough off a bit, just play good enough to win.
After all, they were playing 2-and-4 Western Michigan, No. 298 (of 364 D1 teams) in the Ken Pomeroy ratings/rankings.
The Flyers had won 21 straight games in UD Arena and 15 straight against Mid-American Conference teams.
So why concern themselves over Western Michigan?
And in the end, that’s exactly what the Flyers did. They played barely hard to win, coming from 10 point down in the second half to score a lackadaisical 77-69 win.
Posh Alexander sparked the Flyers coming off the bench.
“This game was, like the coach (Anthony Grant) called it, like a trap game,” said guard Javon Bennett, who made two late three-pointers to stave off the Broncos. He finished with 12 points.
“We were coming off a high, winning that last game in Maui,” he added. “You kinda oversee who you’re playing next. It showed in the first half, but we came together in the second half.”
And it wasn’t jet lag. The Flyers had four days to rejuvenate after flying back from Hawaii.
“We saw Western Michigan and it wasn’t one of the big-time teams we saw in Maui,” said Bennett. “We overshadowed who we were going to play and it hurt us in the first half.”
The word of the night was lethargy. For 22 minutes, the players were lethargic, the cheerleaders were lethargic, the fans were lethargic, the officials in stripes were lethargic and even the concessionaires were lethargic.
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The Flyers appeared to start paying attention with six minutes left in the first half, grabbing a 25-19 lead.
Then it was if Western Michigan’s Owen Lobsinger was an invisible man, a ghost the Flyers couldn’t see, even though he is 6-foot-9.
In the first halfs final six minutes, Lobsinger went one on five, Owen on his own. He scored 16 straight points, the last 16 points Western Michigan scored.
Zed Key enacts another of his slam dunks.
Lobsinger outscored the Flyers, 16-7, and the Broncos took a 35-32 halftime lead.
“Mentally, to be honest, we weren’t out there,” said UD coach Anthony Grant, his voice hoarse.
And it worsened at the start of the second half when Western Michigan barged to a 10-point lead, 44-34, with 17:10 left in the game.
Grant called a timeout and it was as if he fed his Flyers some Go Get ‘Em Juice.
“It was no toughness at that point,” said Posh Alexander. “We went into the huddle and told each other, ‘You gotta be tougher,’ play together.
“It’s basketball, a game of runs,” he added. “It’s how you finish the game and we finished it the right way.”
The lethargy was gone. The Flyers decided to tighten the screws on defense and the defense turned to offense.
The Flyers tore into a 22-6 run that put UD in front 56-50 with nine minutes left and the Broncos never crept closer than four.
Nate Santos keyed the start of the comeback with seven of UD’s 13 points after the timeout. A pair of Malachi Smith free throws at 12:18 gave UD a 47-46 lead. The Flyers were into it, the cheerleaders were into it, the fans were into it, the officials were into it and the concessionaires were into it.
Javon Bennett wins loose ball battle.
“We just told ourselves we had to play defense, lock in on that side,” said Alexander after coming off the bench to score 12 points and concoct four steals. “Let our defense create our offense and that’s what we did.”
“After the mental challenge of coming back from Maui, the travel and everything, we weren’t at our best today,” said Grant. “The first half, Western Michigan had something to do with it, but some of it was self-inflicted.
“I’m proud of the guys that they were able to regroup and refocus in the second half,” he added. “Going into the half, we had a decision to make. It takes character and resiliency to be able to weather the storm.
“This opportunity for Western Michigan was a big one and they took the fight to us,” Grant continued. “They took it to us in the first half and early in the second half, then our guys were able to flip that and I’m proud of them for it.?”
Malachi Smith led the Flyers with six assists.
The steadiest Flyer on this night was Enoch Cheeks. But he is steady most every night and was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week for his work in the Maui Classic.
Cheeks always scores quietly and on Tuesday he scored a quiet 23. He was 7 for 10 from the field, 3 for 5 from three and 6 for 6 at the foul line. And, oh, he had eight rebounds, two assists, a steal, a blocked shot and only one turnover.
“Cheeks is a really, really good basketball player,” said Grant. “He puts a lot of work in, works on his craft. He is really effective on both sides of the ball. He is the perimeter version of Toumari Camara (one of UD’s stars last season). He’s elite in terms of the way he impacts winning.”
The 7-2 Flyers try for their 22nd straight UD Arena success Saturday afternoon against Lehigh, 2-5, with losses to Georgetown, Northwestern, Columbia and UCLA.
Enoch Cheeks snags one of his game-high eight rebounds.
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