Aiden Derkack looks for a successful end to a contested shot in Tuesday’s loss to Sienna. Derkack finished with a team high 25 points and his third double-double to start the season. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Sonny Fulks)
In the end Anthony Grant called it a combination of a whole lot of things. Whatever those were, it cost the UD Flyers their second loss of the season, 99-89, to Siena.
Dayton, OH — It was deja vu all over again — only worse.
For the second time in four days, the University of Dayton basketball team took a breath-deflating sucker punch to the solar plexis.
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This time it was Siena University, a 13 1/2-point underdog and a loser to Bryant University it its opener, that barged into the University of Dayton Arena and walked out with heads held high.
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On Saturday it was Northern Illinois with first-year coach Mark Majkrzak spoiling UD’s night, 81-76, in overtime.
Siena, though, under new coach Nevada Smith, didn’t need overtime. They won by 10 in regulation and nearly slapped 100 on the Flyers, winning 99-89.
It looked as if Siena should have been the 13 1/2 point favorites and Smith believed it, too.
Was his team intimidated by 13,407 fans and UD’s reputation?
“No, not at all, not one bit, actually,” he said. “We told our guys we had the better team and don’t slow down.”
Slow down? The Saints were a blur up and down and up and down the Blackburn Court.
UD was miserable in their effort to close out on Siena’s three-point shooters…Brendan Coyle (6 of 9, above).
All 16 players on the Siena roster were listed as guards, including 7-foot-1 bench-sitter Andres Amon. And the Saints played what resembled an all-guard offense with the attitude, “Shoot often and shoot quick.”
It was as if the Flyers were more concerned about how to pronounce some Siena names than playing defense, names like Ibuukunoluwa, Egbiremolen and Yildizoglu.
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Tim Ibukunoluwa and Trent Egbiremolen are freshmen who play like second-year NBAers.
Tim, a 6-9 freshman from Australia, led five Saints in double figures with 23 points. Trent, a 6-5 freshman from Baltimore scored 20 that included 12 for 12 from the foul line.
UD’s Grant Randall watches his shot during the second half of Tuesday’s loss to Siena at UD Arena.
A third Siena player scored in the 20s, 6-7 grad student Brendan Doyle. His 21 points mostly came on 6 for 9 sniping from three-point acreage. If there was a UD defender anywhere near him, it must have been a ghost because no defender was seen.
It was back-and-forth for most of the game and the Flyers led, 57-55, with 16 minutes left.
It was the last time they led. Siena sprinted on a 15-3 run to build a 70-60 lead with 10 1/2 minutes left.
The Flyers pulled close several times but each time they perpetrated turnovers, took and missed bad shots and permitted Siena to whip in rally-killing three-pointers.
For the third straight game, UD freshman Aiden Derkack had a double-double, scoring in the 20s all three-times. He scored 25 and pulled down 10 rebounds.
Tristan Ford had a dream night by not missing a shot — 8 for 8 that included 5 for 5 from three for 21 points.
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No other UDer hit doubles. Subtract Ford’s 5 for 5 and the Flyers were 6 for 25 from three.
UD Coach Anthony Grant called Travis Perry, a transfer from Kentucky and Ole Miss, “The best shooter in the country.”
And that was after Perry was 1 for 7 from three and is 2 for 14 for the season. But somebody else had a worse night. Landon Joseph was 4 for 14 — 0 for 7 from three.
They shot and they defended, too…Siena’s defense closes in on UD’s Jaiun Simon during the first half of Tuesday’s game at UD Arena.
While Derkack did everything on a basketball floor required for his team to win, he was the spokesman for the loss.
“These two losses suck,” he said. “Every time we made a run we then had a defensive breakdown and they’d hit a three or we’d turn the ball over (18 turnovers).
“It’s a matter of us,” he added. “We lost that game. Siena played great but the loss is all on us. Small mistakes here and there, and small mistakes add up.”
Of his 25 points and 10 rebounds, Derkack said, “I’d take no points and no rebounds if we win. Those rebounds and points tonight don’t mean shit because we lost.”
Said Grant, “They have two freshmen who are very good. They don’t play like freshmen. And they have a fifth-year senior guard (Pace Prosser) that was as good as he looked on film…he was really, really good and had 11 assists (and 17 points).”
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Igukunoluwa, the Aussie who scored 23, was not intimidated, even though it was the biggest crowd ever to see him play (3,000 in Australia).
“This was nothing like I’ve done before in Australia,” he said. “When you play, you kind of lose focus on the crowd so that was good for me. But it was very fun.
“There was nothing for us to be intimidated by the big crowd,” he added.
Coyle, the senior sharp-shooter, hit 4 of 6 threes in the first half to keep the Saints a half-step in front of the Flyers and watched the underclassmen calmly make 13 of 14 free throws in the final minute-and-a-half.
“We have a fearless group,” said Coyle. “Our team is full of confidence and our freshmen (Ibukunoluwa and Egbiremolen) play big-time basketball. So for them to step up like they did tonight is huge for us. They played unbelievably tonight.”
Coyle was asked what the team’s attitude was in the final 7 1/2 minutes when the Flyers pulled to within 72-70.
“Make free throws and don’t do anything stupid,” he said. “No crazy fouls…just take care of business.”
Taking care of business? Bachman Turner Overdrive could not take care of business any better than Siena did.
About his team shooting free throws with no-pressure perfection, Smith said, “We’re a good shooting team, we have good skill players, so it was fun to see those guys step up and finish it out.”
What Northern Illinois and Siena have done is put the Flyers on the outside looking in for an NCAA at-large bid…just three games into the season.
And it gets tougher Saturday night. The University of Cincinnati comes calling and the Bearcats are at least two levels above Northern Illinois and one level above Siena.
Fans will find out how many levels Cincinnati is above UD…if they are.
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