Javon Bennett was 4 for 7 from three territory and 7 for 7 from the foul line with a game-high of 25 points. (Press Pros File Photos)
The University of Dayton basketball team was not certain about the ability of Bethune-Cookman for their visit to UD Arena Saturday night and the aggressive and scrappy Wildcats gave the now 3-and-1 Flyers a go of it before losing in a physical battle.
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Dayton, OH. — For the University of Dayton Flyers Saturday night it was a matter of seeing which Bethune-Cookman basketball team showed up.
Would it be the Bethune-Cookman team that took Auburn into overtime before losing by five?
Or would it be the Bethune team — Cookman didn’t show up that night — that lost by 40 to Miami (Fla.)
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UD was favored by 21 1/2 points, a margin they never came within sniffing range of attaining.
That’s because the Bethune-Cookman team that scared the ‘A’ out of Auburn showed up at UD Arena.
The Flyers won, 91-82, and it was a mathematical puzzle.
The aggressive and scrappy Wildcats came off the beaches at Daytona Beach, near their campus, to pursue the Flyers like panting dogs running in the sand.
They outscored the Flyers in the paint, 48-32.
They beat the Flyers in second chance points, 20-12.
They beat the Flyers on fast break points, 13-12.
The BCU bench outscored the UD bench, 32-11.
Amaël L’Etang pulls down one of his 10 rebounds adding to his 18 points making it a double-double night.
So how did the Flyers pull it off?
These ways?
Remember UD’s last game, a loss at the University of Cincinnati when they shot three-pointers as if blindfolded and shooting in the dark with oven-mittens on their hands — 2 for 26?
Well, against BCU, shooting at familiar, comfortable and accepting rims, the Flyers made 11 of 19.
Remember when they missed seven free throws at Cincinnati, some coming closer to landing in Fountain Square than the bottom of the nets?
Well, against BCU they made 26 of 32 as the visitors were whistled 24 times for infractions.
Remember when they committed 24 turnovers in Cincinnati, dribbling off their knees and passing the ball to the cheerleaders.
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Well, against BCU they were the enforcers — forcing the Wildcat into 25 turnovers while the Flyers made only seven.
Remember when Javon Bennett was 1 for 10 on three-pointers against Cincinnati, shooting as if blindfolded with a cigaret in his shooting hand?
De’Shayne Montgomery hit 4 of 5 tre’s adding to his 16 points for the Flyers.
Well, against BCU he was four for seven from three territory and seven for seven from the foul line en route to game-high 25 points, 18 in the first half.
Of his and the team’s three-point turnaround, Bennett said, “I would say we took a little bit better ones. We were kinda amped up playing Cincinnati, a big game.
“This game we slowed down a little bit and took better shots.”
Asked if playing at home might be a slight help, he said, “Of course, there is no place like playing here. The fans help us a lot and we’re used to playing here.
“And Cudos to them (BCU) because this is not an easy place to come to play in,” Bennett added. “They fought us, but we stuck with what we did in practice all week and found a way to win.”
Bennett is a three-year veteran amongst a bevy of newcomers and carries coach Anthony Grant’s message onto the floor.
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“He is the veteran of our group,” said Grant. “He is a guy who has been through it before. He knows what I want, he knows the system and what we need to be able to do.”
Amael L’Etang, the 7-foot-1 Frenchman, backed up Bennett with 18 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 7 of 9. DeShayne Montgomery scored an aggressive 16 and made 4 of 5 three-pointers and let the BCU bench know about it as each one plopped through the rim.
Jordan Kerkack had 6 assists and 10 points for the Flyers.
Grant made a starting lineup change — Jordan Derkack in place of Jacob Conner and he scored 10 and turned in six assists.
“He played 29, almost 30 minutes tonight,” said Grant. “It is good to see his stamina. He helps the group. You look across the board — I’m not happy with his five turnovers — he’s better than that. But he’s able to handle and impose his will in some areas and help the team. We’ll continue to move him forward.”
BCU is an HBCU (Historically Black College or University) of 3,100 students and five or six are darn good basketball players.
The Flyers tried a full-court press in the first half and BCU’s aggressive guards went through it like water through coffee grounds.
They actually led, 26-25, with seven minutes left in the half. Unbelievably, the Flyers then made three straight threes on a 9-0 run.
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The first one came off a steal by Keonte Jones, the only three he tried, then two straight by Bennett.
So a team that made two three-pointers in 40 minutes in Cincinnati, buried three in a minute-and-half against BCU to take a 34-26 lead.
At halftime it was 45-39 and the Flyers kept barging ahead by nine, 10 and 11 points but couldn’t put the pesky and perky Wildcats away. They kept charging back.
The Flyers led, 51-41, then 51-45.
Keonte Jones lays in two of his 11 points.
The Flyers led, 70-57, then 72-66,
The Flyers led, 80-66, then 82-73.
The Wildcats, adeptly and adroitly coached by former Chicago Bulls and Nevada-Las Vegas superstar Reggie Theus, just wouldn’t pack up early.
The Flyers’ student section and the 25 cheerleaders — ten more cheerleaders than UD players — made a major mistake early.
BCU’s Arterio Morris missed everything, hit nothing but the stale air in the Arena, with a shot early in the game. The students and cheerleaders chanted, “Air ball, air ball,” every time he touched the ball the rest of the game.
It spurred him. He was unstoppable driving to the basket and led BCU with 19 points. Jakobi Heady scored 17, but was the UD cheering section’s favorite visiting player.
If an opposing team misses six free throws, Lee’s Chicken offers freebies to ticketholders. And there was Heady at the line with 2:15 left and the Wildcats had missed five free throws.
With the students chanting, “We want chicken, we want chicken,” Heady missed the front end of a one-and-one and the roar of the crowd was like a pride of lions at dinner time with chicken on their menu.
BCU did win the Foot Joy Award. The players wore an assortment of shoes that resembled a clown show. One wore one orange shoe and one green shoe, one wore blinding orange, one wore a pair with one orange heel and one green heel and one wore orange with glitter.
And the school’s colors are not orange and green. . .it’s maroon and gold.
But the Flyers weren’t looking at their feet and recognized them.
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