Amael L’Etang and Javon Bennett celebrate L’Etang’s game-winning shot. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Julie McMaken Wright)
With three seconds left in overtime and 3.8 seconds left in a tie game, University of Dayton point guard Malachi Smith launched a half-court pass to 7-foot-1 Amael ‘Frenchy’ L’Etang and with 0:00.2 on the clock he dropped it into the basket to give the Flyers an 83-81 win over Chicago Loyola, snapping the Flyers’ three-game losing streak in Atlantic 10 play.
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Dayton, OH — For the University of Dayton Flyers, it was ‘Vive La France’ Saturday afternoon in UD Arena, with a mixture of The Bronx.
Amael L’Etang, UD’s 7-foot-1 freshman human Eiffel Tower, scored the biggest basket of his fledgling career and the biggest basket of the season for Dayton.
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L’Etang took a needle-point pass from Malachi Smith, resident of The Bronx, which he launched from mid-court, and L’Etang dropped it into the hoop with 0:00.2 on the clock.
He was as smooth on the play as a French Bordeaux.
It was the winning basket, in overtime, to conclude UD’s three-game losing streak and put the Flyer Faithful into a frenzy.
They should have been doing the can-can in the aisles for the kid they call ‘Frenchy’ after he played ‘Beat the Clock, beating the buzzer to give the Flyers the 83-81 win in overtime over Chicago Loyola.
Speaking in a delightful French dialect, the kid from Toulouse, France who got loose to dramatically end the game, L’Etang said, “First of all, a shout to Mali. It was a perfect pass, in a good spot.”
Malachi Smith launched a half-court pass to 7-foot-1 Amael ‘Frenchy’ L’Etang with 0:00.2 on the clock, he dropped it into the basket to give the Flyers an 83-81 win over Chicago Loyola.
For what L’Etang had to do, it was spot on.
“I mean, I was kinda panicking in the moment,” he said. “It was in slo-mo, I made it, and after that I don’t know what happened.”
What happened was UD delirium.
Asked if he was surprised Smith fired the pass at him, L’Etang said, “Uhhhh, I had the space so I thought, ‘Maybe.’ And then I saw it and said, ‘Here it comes.’ My first ever buzzer-beater, so it’s all good.”
While coach Anthony Grant was as grateful for L’Etang’s basket as a kid getting his first Schwinn, it was Smith’s pass that had his jaw gaping.
“That’s an innate skill,” he said about the entire process. “The headiness of Malachi to be aware. . I looked up at the clock when Malachi caught the ball (3.8 second) and for him to have the presence of mind to look at the clock and understand the situation. And to be able to advance the ball and survey the floor and be able to make a pin-point pass.
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“The play was just like what we talked about during the timeout, to execute it, to execute it perfectly,” Grant said with a wry grin. “We have situational things that we practice. That wasn’t one of them.
“That was all Malachi, his innate awareness to understand the clock, to understand the situation to survey the floor and give us a chance,” said Grant.
Javon Bennett drives to the hoop for a big UD basket.
To give the Flyers a chance? While the fans went home yammering, rehashing the game-winning play, it was Enoch Cheeks who gave the Flyers the last-second blindfold-and-cigaret chance because the game had more twists and turns than an Alfred Hitchcock movie. There were eight lead changes and seven ties.
Cheeks scored 26 points and every time the Flyers needed a quick band-aid, it was Cheeks-to-Cheeks. He made six three-pointers.
He made his first three three-pointers to help the Flyers construct an early 26-15 lead.
Loyola scrambled to within 46-37 with 15 minutes left. Cheeks hit a three. Loyola closed to within one, 48-47, with 10 1/2 minutes left. Cheeks hit a three.
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Loyola surged to a 57-54 lead with six minutes left. Cheeks hit a three. Loyola tied it, 75-75, in the overtime with 41 seconds left.
Cheeks hit a three.
So it was surprising that Cheeks didn’t take that last shot to win the game, but he was off to the side and not near the hoop, where L’Etang stood.
Zed Key takes a hit to the face on a Loyola foul.
Said Cheeks, “I was looking at Mali throwing the ball, just saw him throw it up, so I thought, ‘What are you doing?’ Then I saw Frenchy down there and he caught it and I was in awe and I was in shock. Glad it worked out.”
It worked out because L’Etang, a freshman, is learning fast.
“He is like a sponge, just absorbs all the information he’s given, everything we throw to him,” said Cheeks, talking about L’Etang. “He is able to adapt to certain situations, like today, when he started the game. And he was able to fit right in and showcase his talent.
“He is always ready to listen and learn,” Cheeks added. “Some freshmen come in and think they know it all, but he’s been true to himself, always asking questions and always working hard.”
L’Etang started, only his second start and the first was against DIII Capital when Grant didn’t play his regulars.
Nate Santos takes a spill as he tries to stop Loyola’s Jalen DeLoach.
Why now? It had a lot to do with UD’s three-game losing streak that had them 11-6, 1-3 in the Atlantic 10.
The Flyers began the game looking up at 13 teams in the A-10, standing 14th in the 15-team conference, ahead only of winless Fordham.
L’Etang started. . .and finished dramatically. He played 32 minutes and scored 11 points on three for four shooting and five-for-five at the foul line. He also snagged five rebounds and made a huge blocked shot in the overtime.
Said Grant about L’Etang’s start, “Just switching things up and certainly I thought he’s earned it with his consistency. When you lose three in a row, you’re looking for something to give you a spark and try to figure it out. I tried to give our team a different look, a different feel. And he did a good job, he earned it.”
Flyer Faithful rocked the house when L’Etang hit the winning basket….Can you find Waldo in the Flyer Faithful?
Starting was a kick starter, but having L’Etang in the game at the end was more than a spark, it turned out to be a kaleidoscope of fireworks.
When the Flyers play their next home game Friday against Saint Joseph’s, after they play the Star-Spangled Banner, they should play La Marseillaise, the French national anthem.
L’Etang earned it.
Enoch Cheeks dunks one and also hit six three-pointers for 26 points.
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