De’Shayne Montgomery passes to an open teammate. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Julie Wright-Daniel)
Although the University of Dayton basketball team bested VCU in nearly every statistical category Friday night in UD Arena, the statistics lie as the Rams stopped the Flyers’ six-game winning streak, 68-62.
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Dayton, OH. — Basketball was invented in 1891 and Mark Twain died in 1910, so it is unlikely Twain ever witnessed a game.
But his famous quote certainly applies to what happened at UD Arena Friday night.
Said Twain, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.”
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If one checked all the numbers on the statistics sheet of the Virginia Commonwealth-University of Dayton game without checking the score, the numbers favored Dayton.
The numbers, the statistics, they lied like Pinocchio.
Virginia Commonwealth ended Dayton’s six-game winning streak, 68-62, knocking the Flyers to the fourth seed in the Atlantic 10 tournament, but still in possession of a double bye.
But about those statistics that lie.
Javon Bennett en route to the basket and his game high 17 points.
Dayton outscored VCU in the paint, 38-34. UD outscored the Rams on fast break points, 10-6. The Flyers outscored VCU on second chance points, 13-4. UD outscored the Rams on points off turnovers, 13-11.
And the Flyers outrebounded the Rams, 33-30.
All the numbers aligned, but the final score didn’t as UD lost its final regular-season game in UD Arena for the first time in 15 seasons.
How close was it? Itwasthisclose all the way. There were 12 lead changes and the game was tied seven times. UD’s biggest lead was five points and VCU’s biggest lead was six.
After 38 minutes of close bickering, it all came down to the final two minutes
Amaël L’Etang missed a shot, nabbed his miss and dropped it in, pulling the Flyers to within 64-62 within 1:43 left.
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But VCU’s Terrence Hill Jr. quickly hit a clutch step-back jumper near the foul line to push the Rams up, 66-62 with 1:18 left.
The Flyers called time to set up something devious but played around with the ball too long, forcing De’Shayne Montgomery to throw up a desperate three-point heave as the shot clock expired.
Amaël L’Etang tosses this floater and makes it.
It was an air ball.
VCU’s Barry Evans missed a shot, UD’s Jordan Derkack snagged the rebound, quickly dribbled the length of the floor. . .and his lay-up was blocked with eight seconds left.
Lazar Djokovic finished it off with two free throws and led VCU with 16 points as the Rams finished the regular season 24-7, 15-3 in the A-10. They will be the No. 2 seed behind No. 1 Saint Louis in the A-10 tournament.
As Javon Bennett put it, “I think we did a great job. They had a one-possession lead and we fought. In those type of games, one missed shot, one rebound, one turnover can make the difference.”
And it made a big difference on this night.
“We were a possession or two away, had some plays that didn’t go our way,” said UD coach Anthony Grant. “With two minutes to play, it’s a one-possession game (64-62). We gotta a chance to win the game.
“The goal is to win the game,” he added. “That’s what we play for. We’re trying to win the game, however we gotta do it.”
It was UD Flyer’s Senior Night with Javon Bennett, Jacob Conner, Keonte Jones and Jordan Derkack that were honored before the game.
They fell short of that objection, just as they fell short of UD’s yearly goal. . .to win the A-10 championship.
“We got a lot more basketball to play,” said Grant. “It’s March and our guys are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead of us.
Jaiun Simon drives for an easy lay-up.
“The regular-season ended today and the goal and the expectation here at Dayton is that we play for championships,” he added. “And unfortunately we came up a little short this year, but in terms of the fight our guys showed, I’m grateful for that.”
It was Senior Night and Javon Bennett, Keonte Jones, Jacob Conner and Jordan Derkack were honored before the game.
Bennett is a 5-foot-10 guard who is Robin Hood deadly from the outside and isn’t afraid to swing elbows under the basket.
He received the loudest ovation from the crowd in appreciation for his three-year contribution after transferring in from Merrimack University.
As usual, he led the Flyers Friday night with 17 points during his final appearance on the UD Arena floor.
“This is all I know,” he said. “Leaving this place is gonna be hard because I created great relationships here and I wouldn’t want to do it anywhere else.
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“I’ve got so many memories here, man,” he added. “Just the fans, the 13,000, the environment. There is none other.”
De’Shayne Montgomery, a 6-foot-5 junior transfer from Georgia, scored 13 points and captured 10 rebounds, but was disappointed that he couldn’t help send the seniors off the Blackburn Court with a victory.
Malcolm Thomas enters the game with a slam dunk exclamation point.
“I wanted to get them the last home game (victory),” he said. “But we still got a (tournament) championship to win. We’re gonna win that.”
Grant’s praise for the three seniors was high, the highest for Bennett, especially because he stuck around for three years during this transfer portal era when players change teams as often as they change their Fruit of the Looms.
“Javon has had a lot of experiences here,” said Grant. “In an era when you don’t always see guys that stick around, the product of his familiarity with what we want to do. . .he’s been able to show that leadership because he’s been part of a lot of winning here.
“That builds trust from his teammates in them knowing what they are going to get out of him,” Grant added. “The different things we’ve asked of him, the different challenges that he’s faced. I’m really proud of him.”
One of Grant’s mantras is, “Be great at what you do best.” Bennett did that and was great at several things he did best.
For Bennett upon his arrival at UD, it was Julius Caesar’s veni, vidi, vici — he came, he saw and he conquered the Flyer Faithful.
Jordan Derkack works his swift way to the basket.
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