“I’ve never seen a shot like that,” then Dayton coach Brian Gregory said. “Not too happy that I saw it today.”
George Washington may have used up all of its luck at UD Arena on that one shot because it hasn’t won at Dayton since. The losing streak reached 12 games Tuesday as Dayton rallied from a 35-30 halftime deficit to beat George Washington 79-72.
The only current A-10 team that has lost more consecutive games at UD Arena is Fordham, which has lost 18 straight. Duquesne also has lost 12 in a row at Dayton.
George Washington entered the game with an 11-4 record and two straight double-digit victories in Atlantic 10 Conference play. Dayton played its third straight game without two key big men, Amaël L’Etang and Malcolm Thomas. This was George Washington’s best chance to beat Dayton in years. Instead, Dayton’s dominance at home in the series continued.
“We were 222 in KenPom when I got the job,” fourth-year George Washington coach Chris Caputo said. “We were 63rd coming into this game. We’ve still got plenty of great opportunities (remaining). This certainly was one. But I don’t think there’s any shame in losing here in a close game.”
The Flyers (12-4) became the first A-10 team to reach 3-0 this season. They earned their first victory of the season against a team ranked in the top 100 of the NCAA Evaluation Tool. George Washington is No. 66.
“I’ll start with just how proud I am of our group for the effort and the intensity,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said in his postgame press conference. “Those guys played their third game in seven days, and that kind of effort was needed. George Washington is a really, really good team — very challenging from a defensive standpoint, with the weapons they have."
Here are three takeaways from Dayton’s 16th game:
Credit: David Jablonski
1: Javon Bennett delivered in the clutch again: Three days after hitting a shot with 1.9 seconds left to beat Loyola Chicago 70-68 on the road, Bennett led Dayton with 20 points.
Bennett shot 0-for-11 from the field in the first half and scored two points at the line. In the second half, he made 4 of 9 shots and 7 of 8 free throws.
Bennett made 6 of 7 free throws in the final two minutes to hold off George Washington, which cut Dayton’s lead to 68-66 entering the final two minutes with a 6-0 run.
“I don’t judge Javon by whether or not a shot’s going in,” Grant said. “He’s a great leader. He’s a great competitor. We’re asking a lot of him, just in terms of the load that he has to carry running the team and being one of the key offensive threats for us and what he does defensively for us. We needed him to stay aggressive, and he stayed aggressive. He stayed confident. I think he led our team in hustle stats tonight. He played 38 minutes and didn’t turn the ball over against traps, against pressure. He was really good.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
2: Turnovers and free throws decided the game: The Revolutionaries committed 22 turnovers, one short of their season high. Six Dayton opponents have committed 20 or more turnovers. The Flyers rank fourth in the country in defensive turnover percentage (23.9).
Dayton forced several 10-second violations with its pressure.
Free throws were another key stat. Dayton shot a season-best 90% (27 of 30). George Washington shot 60% (12 of 20).
“You can’t turn the roll over at that rate against these guys and expect to win,” George Washington coach Chris Caputo said, “and then miss half your free throws. It’s a bad recipe. And then still it’s a one-possession game late. We had probably two or three moments in the last four or five minutes or so that just didn’t go our way.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
3: Dayton hopes to get healthy with a week break: The Flyers return to action at 7 p.m. Jan. 13 against Duquesne (9-6, 1-1) in Pittsburgh. The break could give L’Etang (lower-body injury) and Thomas (ankle) a chance to get back on the court.
Both were on the bench but not in uniform for the third straight game, though L’Etang has shed the crutches he had a week ago and Thomas was not wearing a protective boot after wearing one during the last two games.
“I’m sure every day that goes by there’s progress,” Grant said. “We’ll have to wait and see.”
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