De’Shayne Montgomery took over the game in the second half. (Press Pros File Photos)
The University of Dayton Flyers were down 11 points with 6 1/2 minutes to play against Loyola Chicago on the road, but De’Shayne Montgomery and Javon Bennett took command and the Flyers barged back to win, 70-68, on Bennett’s driving lay-up with two seconds left.
Chicago, IL — The University of Dayton was outmanned, outsized and outplayed for 33 1/2 minutes Saturday afternoon in Gentile Arena.
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That, though, meant nothing to De’Shayne Montgomery and Javon Bennett.
That Dynamic Duo hoisted the Flyers on their shoulders and carried them to a stunning second-half comeback and a 70-68 victory over Chicago Loyola.
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Down two important players sidelined with injuries, the Flyers played with thoroughbred-sized hearts and the perseverance of a lion chasing down a zebra.
Bennett drove to the basket for the game-winner with two seconds left. . .and he did it with 6-foot-10 Miles Rubin, the nation’s No. 1 shot-blocker, looming over his head, just 5-foot-10 above the floor.
That’s called courage under fire.
Rubin had blocked five shots, but Bennett scored over him twice in the game’s dying minutes.
Javon Bennett led the Flyers with 24 points.
Bennett tied the game at 63 with a blast to the rim to score with Rubin in his path.
The UD comeback was epic. They trailed 63-52 with 6 1/2 minutes left and a victory seemed hopeless.
That’s when Montgomery re-appeared like a genie out of a bottle.
For the last four games, Montgomery has been AWOL and he was missing in the first half Saturday, too — only three points.
Then it was if he said to Loyola, “I’m De’Shayne Montgomery and you’re not.” He instilled fear and loathing into Loyola’s spirits.
He scored 17 points in the second half and stole the ball five times. Montgomery and Bennett scored 33 of UD’s 39 second-half points.
Montgomery took charge like General MacArthur when the Flyers trailed 63-52.
He stole the ball and drove for a basket. He knocked down four straight free throws and the Flyers were within 63-61 with four minutes left.
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And that’s when Bennett performed his changing of the guard. He scored UD’s final nine points.
Bennett scored UD’s first eight points to start the game, then his shooting hand suffered frostbite. He scored only two points the rest of the first half.
Jaiun Simon made a major off-the-bench contribution.
And he had only two in the second half until his nine-point finish. He played 38 minutes and did not have a turnover, a guy who handles the basketball the majority of the time.
For the second straight game, the Flyers were without 7-foot-1 Amaël L’Etang and 6-foot-8 Malcolm Thomas.
That permitted Loyola to dominate inside. The Ramblers out-rebounded UD, 43-28, and they scored 32 points in the paint.
The 6-foot-10 Rubin had a double-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and the five blocked shots.
But, incredibly, playing on the road, the Flyers were 21 for 25 from the foul line. Loyola didn’t shoot a free throw until 6 1/2 minutes were left in the game and finished 3 for 5.
Montgomery was 7 for 8 from the foul line on his way to 20 points and Bennett was 7 for 8 from the foul line en route to 24 points.
“We had a variety of guys step up,” said UD coach Anthony Grant. “De’Shayne’s (Montgomery) playmaking ability showed itself on both sides of the ball.
“And you can’t say enough about Javon’s (Bennett) heart and his fight,” Grant added. “His ability to will himself into making plays.”
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The scorebook lists Bryce Heard with nine points in 25 minutes off the bench and Jaiun Simon with six points in 19 minutes off the bench.
Both, though, were major contributors.
“Jaiun came in and gave us great minutes across the board, whether it was a big rebound. And Bryce Heard and Jacob Conner stepped up to make big plays for us,” said Grant.
The Flyers left Gentile 11-4 and 2-0 in Atlantic 10 play while Loyola dropped to 5-10 and 1-1.
“Our guys played with heart all night and it is indicative of who they are as a group,” said Grant.
Keonte Jones led a fierce defensive effort.
“When you are down a couple of guys and you have to do things differently, you put guys in different roles, it is kind of an experiment, so to speak.”
In that case, call Grant a mad scientist because he came up with a formula to win when it looked impossible.
The Flyers turned up the burners on defense down the stretch, forcing Loyola into turnovers and holding the Ramblers to five points in the final 6 1/2 minutes,
“We had to figure out what is going to work and what is going to put you in the best position to win. We had guys all over the place trying to find something that would work on both sides of the ball,” said Grant.
What works best is putting the basketball in the hands of Bennett and Montgomery, which also meant Montgomery taking the ball out of the hands of the Ramblers.
“We had our hands full defending them,” said Grant. “They were able to get to the things they’ve had success with in the last two games that they won. That was at the three-point line and at the rim.”
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That meant getting the ball deep in Rubin’s hands and setting up short-range jumpers for Justin Moore (19 points) and three-pointers for Kayda Dotson (four threes and 16 points).
“Our guys were able to figure some things out and step up defensively, took on some challenges,” added Grant.
And offensively?
Bryce Heard provided strong bench support.
“We had to find a group that could function together and take advantage of some of the match-ups and the ways they were trying to defend us,” said Grant.
In the first half, the Flyers tried to rely on three-point shooting — 14 of their first 19 shots were beyond the arc.
They weren’t falling and the Flyers fell behind, 26-15, although they were able to cut the deficit to 39-31 at the half.
After taking 16 three-point shots in the first half and making five, the Flyers took only seven in the second half and made two.
They concentrated more on spending time in the paint and scored 26 around the hoop. And they outscored the Ramblers 18-7 off turnovers.
“There was a never-quit attitude that our guys had and they fought all the way through,” said Grant. “It is always gonna be a 40-minute game. . .we say that a lot, that you have to be able to play for 40 minutes. And our guys embodied that as to what it looks like.”
It looks like a big win for the Flyers because they reduced that 40-minute game to a final 6 1/2 minutes of we’re better than you are to Loyola.
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