De’Shayne Montgomery scored 16 of his 19 points in the first half. (Press Pros File Photos)
The Dayton Flyers began a four-day trip to Philadelphia with a 5-and-0 record in the Atlantic 10 Conference, then were upset twice in four days at LaSalle (67-64) Wednesday and at St. Joseph’s (81-74), a pair of defeats that put the Flyers in dire straits on the league standings.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — For the University of Dayton Flyers it was four days, two losses and suddenly a steep hill to climb.
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And nobody in a Dayton uniform appears to have a pair of mountain-climbing boots.
On Saturday afternoon, the Flyers couldn’t even climb Hawk Hill on the St. Joseph’s campus, losing to the Hawks, 81-74.
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When the Flyers hit the City of Brotherly Love on Wednesday, they were 5-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference, sitting snugly atop the league.
Then. . .they were stunned Wednesday by lowly Loyola, 67-64, then lost again Saturday with a lethargic, lackadaisical approach.
So now they are 5-2 in conference play with the tail lights of league-leader Saint Louis fading into the distance.
And it is fast becoming evident if the 14-6 Flyers want to play in the NCAA tournament they will have to win the A-10 tournament, something they haven’t done in 23 years.
Javon Bennett had two three point shots within the first four minutes of the game.
For the Flyers, this game was as much fun as banging a dunk off the back iron or air-balling a three-point shot.
As Meat Loaf sang it, “And some days you’re breathing fire and some days you’re carved in ice.”
St. Joe’s definitely put the Flyers on ice.
What happened on the court, mostly ugliness from Dayton’s low point of view, was more than evident to coach Anthony Grant.
And he gave a pure, honest assessment during his post-game radio show after watching Team Flop on this day.
“Obviously, we didn’t play well today,” he began. Obviously. “To be honest with you, just watching the game, we looked mentally and physically tired.
“We didn’t have it, mentally or physically on either side of the ball,” he continued. “And they were able to take us out of some things, we were unable to finish the plays, we made a lot of mental mistakes on both sides of the ball and it cost us.”
The Flyers committed 15 turnovers that led to 20 St. Joe’s points. . .and 20 was a magic number for the Hawks.
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They had not one, not two, but three players score 20 points, all three fluffing up their per game averages — Jaiden Glove-Toscano (15.2 average), Derek Simpson (12.6 average) and Dasear Haskins (10.3 average).
“They had some guys step up,” said Grant of St. Joe’s strong showing. “They played really well today, different than what we’ve seen on film. They were ready to go.”
Keonte Jones slams home a dunk to score his 1,000th career points.
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Entering the game, when it came to making three-point shots, for St. Joe’s they were shots too far. Percentage-wise, they were 349th of 364 Division I schools at 28.2%.
Against the Flyers they made 10 of 31 for 32%.
And away they went, improving their work sheet to 12-8, 4-3 in the A-10.
This game was the polar opposite in composition with the same dismal outcome for the Flyers.
Against LaSalle, the Flyers fell behind a ghastly 33-8, then made a near full recovery and had a chance to tie the game when Javon Bennett’s three-point fling bounced off the rim.
Against St. Joseph’s, the Flyers started full throttle and jumped to an 11-3 lead. After going 3 for 23 from the three-point line against LaSalle, the Flyers hit three treys in the first four minutes — two by Bennett and one by De’Shayne Montgomery.
Montgomery had a furious first half with 16 points. He made 7 of 9 shots, two of three from three, grabbed three rebounds and blocked two shots.
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But after the 11-3 start, Montgomery had no help the rest of the half. The Hawks caught up at 27-27.They put together an 8-0 run for a 35-27 lead, tossing in a pair of threes.
The Flyers put together their own late-half surge and took a 36-35 lead.
Then came a microcosm of the game. St. Joe’s missed three shots on its last possession, grabbed three offensive rebounds, then Haskins swished a three at the buzzer. . .a 38-36 St. Joe’s lead at halftime.
Bryce Heard played his normal steady floor game.
The two teams were on equal sneakers for the first 90 second of the second half, a 40-40 tie. But with 18 1/2 minutes still to play, UD’s Keonte Jones picked up his third foul.
While he sat, the Hawks took a 49-40 lead and the Flyers spent the rest of the game with tongues dangling as they chased and never caught up.
After scoring 16 in the first half, Montgomery added only three in the second half and had more turnovers than points. He took only three second-half shots and made one.
He still led the Flyers with 19 points and Bennett had 18, but Bennett again shot as if had drops in his eyes — 7 for 18 (3 for 8 from three).
One of the most perplexing players is 7-foot-1 Amael L’Etang, who plays as if he believes he is 6-foot-1. He started for the first time in several games after his lower body injury.
Malcolm Thomas came off the bench to score 12 points.
He took six shots, five from beyond the arc, and was 0 for 6. During his 14 minutes on the floor he grabbed two rebounds and turned it over twice.
As they say, no rest for the weary. The Flyers flew home to host Rhode Island in UD Arena Tuesday night, then put on the road gear again for a visit against Saint Louis Saturday under the Gateway Arch.
Can anybody say, “Must win.”
Grant, though, is a study in positivity.
“Quick turnaround,” he said. “We have to try to get healthy and whole, get mentally and physically healthy so we can get back to being the best version of ourselves.
“We weren’t anywhere near that today,” he added. “We know we have a good team. We have to get some guys back in rhythm and doing what we know they are capable of doing.”
In Philadelphia, Grant’s assessment of a good team was half right. Team, yes. Good team, no.
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