After playing a near-perfect first half, the University of Dayton Flyers watched Brigham Young outscore them, 22-2, to start the second half and a take a 13-point lead. But UD rallied to tie it late in the game only to fall just shorts, an 83-79 loss to the nation’s No. 9 team.
Kissimmee, FL – Credibility and respect can’t be purchased at Walmart, it must be earned.
And although the University of Dayton Flyers lost on Black Friday, 83-79, to ninth-ranked Brigham Young, the college basketball world can describe the Flyers with r-e-s-p-e-c-t.
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The Flyers, 10 1/2-point underdogs, came within a sliver of cold turkey from pulling a major upset in the finals of the ESPN Events Invitational.
Hall of fame writer Hal McCoy covers the UD Flyers for Press Pros Magazine.com
Almost. . .and that’s with a capital ‘A.’
Whatever BYU coach Kevin Young said to his team at halftime, he should type it up and sell it to every coach in the country.
UD, behind the deadly marksmanship of Javon Bennett and a grab ‘em by the throat defense, completely outplayed BYU in the first half.
With Bennett making five of his first six three-point shots en route to 17 first-half points, the Flyers built a 10-point lead, 36-26, and led at intermission, 36-30.
And De’Shayne Montgomery buried a three to open the second half for a 39-30 lead.
Then whatever coach Young said and did, kicked in….an avalanche the likes of which Provo, Utah never saw before.
In four minutes, BYU went on a 15-0 run to take a 45-39 lead. And it continued. A 22-2 run and BYU was in charge with a 52-41 lead.
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The Cougars had eight field goals in the first half’s 20 minutes. They had eight field goals in the first four minutes of the second half.
“They made plays,” said UD coach Anthony Grant. “They’re a really good team, really play well together.
“They made an adjustment at the half and we had too many empty possessions to start the second half,” Grant added. “They were successful in transition and made shots.”
Javon Bennett led the Flyers with 22 points…but only five in the second half.
Did the Flyers die on the spot, call it a night and a tournament.
As former ESPN analyst Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast.”
The gritty, gutty Flyers chipped away and chipped away until Bryce Heard turned a BYU turnover into a fast break basket that tied it, 67-67, with four minutes left.
After BYU’s Robert Wright III hit a three, Heard matched it with a three and it was 70-70 with three minutes left.
That’s when BYU’s Richie Saunders took over. The Flyers double teamed BYU’s super freshman, A.J. Dybanta when he touched the ball.
That left Saunders free to roam and he scored 27 points, eight points from when it was 70-70.
Still, the Flyers hung around. Heard, who came off the bench to score 16, hit another three to pull the Flyers within 79-76.
With 13 seconds left, Bennett made two free throws and it was 81-78.
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And Amael L’Etang was at the foul line with 0:3.5 seconds left and the Flyers down three. His mission was to make the first and purposely miss the second and hope the Flyers grabbed the rebound and put up a quick game-tying shot.
He made the first. He missed the second but Saunders snagged the rebound and nailed two free throws for the final 83-79 margin.
“I’m proud of the fight, but we came up a little bit short,” said Grant. “When we were down 13 early in the second half, our guys responded and put ourselves in a position where it was a tie game under four minutes.
“Saunders for them, he is a heck of a player, and stepped up and made plays,” he added.
It was a basketball game suitable for the Final Four, an absolutely excellent game played by both teams.
After the Flyers totally discombulated BYU with their bullying defense in the first half, BYU adjusted in the second half and mostly it was a rack attack as they drove to the basket time and time again.
In the first half, after making 5 of his first 6 threes, Bennett missed the last two.
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One of BYU coach Young’s halftime message had to be, “Play Bennett nose-to-nose.” The Cougars alternated big men on the 5-foot-10 Bennett and he got off only three three-point tries and made one.
On the other side, BYU’s offense is a three-headed serpent — Dybanta, Saunders and Wright. The Flyers did well in holding Dybanta to 18 (he averages 19.2), but Saunders whipped in 27 and Wright, who averages 16.3, scored 23.
That threesome scored 68 of BYU’s 83.
Bennett led the Flyers with 22, only five in the second half, but received little scoring help from the other starters — 13 from L’Etang (5 for 13, 2 for 7 from three), 11 from Montgomery (4 for 11, 2 for 5 from three), eight from Keonte Jones (4 for 8) and seven from Jordan Derkack.
If the Flyers fell short in any aspect, it was at the foul line. While BYU made 15 of 18, the Flyers were 6 for 14. And Derkack was 2 for 7.
Other than Bennett’s first-half show, the play of 6-foot-11 junior Heard off the bench was UD’s brightest light.
“I’m just proud of Bryce because he has stayed the course and found the rhythm here today,” said Grant. “It was one game. Hey, we came here to win a championship, but we found out alot about oursevles.”
And it was all good.
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