Amaël L’Etang suffered an off night, but made a big late-game steal. (Press Pros File Photos)
Despite committing 25 turnovers and having the ball stolen from from 21 times, the University of Dayton Flyers persevered and show the pluck needed to scored an impressive road win at Marquette, 77-71 in overtime to push their record to 4-1.
Milwaukee, Wis. – The word ‘chaos’ is the on-point definition of the University of Dayton-Marquette basketball game Wednesday night in Milwaukee.
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For most of the skirmish, and it was a skirmish, UD handled the basketball as if it was a hot charcoal fresh out of the grill.
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Marquette was a group of master thieves, stealing the ball from the Flyers 21 times.
No matter. The Flyers turned it around in overtime to pull off a fantastic win, 77-71.
And it was defense that turned Marquette into a mess near game’s end, a one-man protection agency by 6-foot-8 grad student Keonte Jones, a native of nearby Madison, Wisc.
The Flyers led, 74-71, with 1:30 left. Marquette’s Royce Parham tried for a game-tying three. Jones blocked it.
Fast forward to the final minute, Dayton up, 77-71, Jones blocked another shot, then stole the ball, the game-clinching theft.
“The two blocks that he had, just phenomenal,” said UD coach Anthony Grant. “Just to be the guy to be able to make those plays defensively. . .one of them would have been a tie game.”
Despite the cramps, Javon Bennett played 33 minutes and scored 19.
And there was a performance that should earn Javon Bennett a purple heart. He is, of course, the heart-and-soul of the Flyers as the team’s diminutive 5-foot-10 point guard.
The Flyers were in control, leading, 47-36, with 17 minutes left. Then Bennett went down, clutching his left leg. Cramps. . .really bad cramps.
He tried to come back with 12:55 left and the Flyers still leading, 51-41. He lasted 20 seconds and limped off again.
With Bennett’s leadership, prodigious scoring and playmaking missing, Marquette crept to within 59-54 on a 7-0 run with 6 1/2 minutes to go.
Showing pure intestinal fortitude, Bennett limped back on the floor and put the finishing touches on Marquette after the defensive plays by Jones.
Bennett made three free throws in the final 19 seconds and before making 1 of 2 with 19 seconds left, he waved bye-bye to Marquette fans.
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Despite the debilitating cramps, Bennett had a smile as wide as the foul line after the game.
“I had some cramps, but the medical staff did a great job getting me back into the game,” he said after spending time under a tunnel getting rid of them.
“Our team is about playing defensively, that’s what we hang our hats on,” he said.
Jordan Derkack, still shaking off injury rust, played a strong floor game.
Led by 6-foot-5 University of Georgia transfer De’Shayne Montgomery’s 14 first-half points, the Flyers built a 23-13 lead to start the game, only to watch Marquette go on a 14-0 run to grab a 27-23 lead.
Then the Flyers said, “Anything you can do, we can, too,” and went on a 13-2 run to end the half with a 39-34 lead.
Early in the second half, Montgomery took a back-to-the-floor spill and was out for a few minutes. He was not the same when he returned and scored only four points in the second half and finished with 18.
And despite the spill, he barely wrinkled his shorts on the bench before returning to play 42 minutes.
Despite the cramps, Bennett played 33 minutes and scored 19.
How chaotic was the Flyers’ fourth win in five games. . .25 turnovers (20 of them Marquette steals) and 17 fouls committed?
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Flyer coach Anthony Grant was at a loss to describe what happened.
“All across the board there were things that I don’t even remember because there was so much going on in the game,” he said.
De’Shayne Montgomery scored 14 points in the first half.
But he remember enough, especially on the defensive end where the Flyers confused Marquette with a variety of defenses, including a 1-3-1 zone that helped create 20 turnovers.
“We were able to mix our defenses up,” he said. “They have great team speed across the board, so that was a big key for us. We needed to keep them out of transition.”
Mission accomplished.
Marquette’s best scorer, Chase Ross, came into the game averaging 20.8 points per game, most coming on hell-bent-for-success drives to the basket.
He scored 15, but was 5 for 14 from the field and the UD defense forced him outside, where he was 1 for 7 from three.
For the game Marquette was 25 for 65 (38.5%) and 9 for 31 (29%) from three.
The Flyers plunked in 28 of 49 (53.1%) and were 7 for 17 (41.2% from three, with Montgomery making 2 of 3, Jones 2 of 4 and Jacob Conner 2 of 3.
Conner came off the bench and hit a three when Marquette had scrambled to within 56-47 and hit another in overtime when Marquette drew to 71-68 with 1:46 left in regulation.
For Grant, it was a significant victory that came against Marquette coach Shaka Smart, who succeeded Grant at Virginia Commonwealth when Grant departed for Alabama.
The victory Wednesday came on Marquette’s home court. Before this win, Grant was 1-and-9 in non-conference games on a team’s true home court and not at a neutral site.
“I’m proud of our group,” he said. “It was a battle. You look at the stat sheet and we had 25 turnovers, 21 steals by them. We knew coming in they were very active defensively.
“Obviously, we didn’t do that job we need to there, but our group just kept finding ways. And different guys stepped up and kept making plays.”
That would be Bennett, Montgomery, Jones, Conner, Malcomb Thomas and Jaiun Simon.
“Thomas came in and gave up great minutes (eight points and 3 for 4 shooting) and I’m so proud of him,” said Grant. “We were in foul trouble and Jaium (Simon) gave us some valuable minutes.
“All across the board, guys came in and played with confidence, played with purpose, played together,” he added. “A great team win.”
Chaotic? Yes. A great win. Double yes.
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