It was an exhibition game. It doesn’t count. However, the Flyers led from start to finish, stretching their advantage to as many as 27 points, and the sellout crowd watched four returning players mesh well with five newcomers.
“I thought our guys competed at a high level,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “It was good to see them be able to transfer what we’ve talked about in terms of the identity we want to play with and the things we need to do to be able to face the first outside competition as a group, be in front of fans for the first time, and then go out and perform.
“At the end of the day, there’s certainly things that we’ll need to get better at, but overall, I thought we were able to put together a good performance in terms of the things that we’ve tried to work on at this point here in the preseason.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Here are three takeaways from the first of two exhibition games:
1: The Flyers showed improvement on defense: Dayton held Penn State to 39.3% shooting (24 of 61) and 18.2% shooting (4 of 22) from 3-point range.
Penn State missed its first five shots in the second half. In the same stretch, Dayton made four straight shots, turning a 34-29 halftime lead into a 42-29 advantage.
Dayton ranked 148th in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency last season, according to KenPom.com. That was its lowest ranking since Grant’s first season in 2017-18. The coaches added six transfers in the spring with the hope of improving that number.
“I’m a defensive player myself, so I’m all over it,” Cal State Northridge transfer Keonte Jones said. “I appreciate defense. Coach Grant is definitely hard on the defensive end and very detailed.”
Credit: David Jablonski
2: Everyone contributed on offense: All 10 scholarship players who made up the rotation until the walk-ons entered the game in the final minutes scored.
Jones led the Flyers with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
Amaël L’Etang had 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Dayton.
North Carolina State transfer Bryce Heard scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
Javon Bennett made 3 of 6 3-pointers and scored nine points.
Villanova transfer Malcolm Thomas scored eight points on 3-of-5 shooting and grabbed six rebounds.
Georgia transfer De’Shayne Montgomery and redshirt sophomore Jaiun Simon each scored six. Jacob Conner joined Jones, Montgomery, Bennett and L’Etang in the starting lineup and scored five points.
Adam Njie Jr. had four points on 2-of-9 shooting.
Freshman Damon Friery scored three points.
Dayton shot 26% (7 of 27) from 3-point range but 65.7% (23 of 35) from 2-point range.
“I thought the ball moved well tonight,” Grant said. “I thought guys made an extra pass. We didn’t have a great shooting night, but I thought we got good shots for the most part. We’re just trying to find that balance of playing with tempo and then also taking care of the basketball and then being able to find those good shots. We weren’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination. I didn’t expect us to be.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
3: Two players missed the game with injuries: Rutgers transfer Jordan Derkack and freshman guard Jaron McKie were on the bench but not in uniform.
On Derkack, Grant said, “He took a fall the other day in practice. He’s doing OK, but just for precautionary reasons, we wanted to give him time to get himself back, but we fully expect him to recover and be ready to go.”
McKie wore a sling on his left arm as he watched the game. He will miss the 2025-26 season after undergoing shoulder surgery, Grant said.
McKie will earn a medical redshirt and will still have four seasons of eligibility remaining.
“His rehab is starting,” Grant said, “so it’s just a matter now letting his body heal. Our medical staff is outstanding. They’ll do a great job of getting him ready. He won’t be able to participate at this stage, but hopefully he’ll take advantage of his opportunity to learn and grow.”
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