The University of Dayton basketball team had lost seven of its last 10 games to LaSalle in Tom Gola Arena, good teams losing to bad teams, so it was with trepidation that the Flyers trudged into Gola Arena Tuesday night. But this time they took care of a business, a 66-54 win that was their 13th straight and lifted their record to 16-2, 6-0 in the Atlantic 10, good for first place.
For the second straight game, when DaRon Holmes II saw his team staggering, he took command. After scoring only four points in the first half as his Dayton Flyers fell behind by two points at halftime, Holmes scored 25 in the second half to scorch Saint Louis, 70-65, UD's 11th straight win that lifted its record to 14-2 with a perfect 4-0 in the Atlantic 10.
The UD Flyers were strangely underdogs for a game Friday night at Duquesne, but whomever decided that didn't take into consideration what DaRon Holmes II can do and he showed it with 33 points and scored 13 of 15 points during a late-game spree that pushed the Flyers from a 4-point lead to a 14-point lead for a 72-62 win.
In an emotional-packed day, childhood friends Anthony Grant and Frank Martin did battle on the UD Arena floor and Grant led the Flyers from a big first-half lead to holding off Frank Martin's UMass team. The Flyers won their ninth straight, improved to 12-2 (2-0 in the Atlantic 10), then Martin was in tears after the game talking about his relationship with Grant.