The current edition of the Flyers put on a show that brought one of Dayton’s all-time greats to his feet several times as they mimicked some of Obi Toppin’s legendary dunks in an 84-61 victory against North Florida on Saturday at UD Arena.
Toppin was present as one of the four members of the UD Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2025 inducted during halftime. He had an up close view in his courtside seat to see several current Dayton players continually slammed home dunk after dunk during a dominant 18-0 run in the first half.
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
“He’s a friendly guy, so he be giving us advice, you know? And we just take it because he’s been where we’re at and right now is where most of us want to be at one day,” De’Shayne Montgomery said.
Thomas had four of Dayton’s seven dunks on the night, not quite making it to the 10 Toppin slammed home himself the last time the Flyers hosted UNF in 2019, but he scored a career-high 14 points while wearing the No. 1 jersey that used to be worn by Toppin.
“I feel like I’m trying to, you know, walk in Obi’s footsteps,” Thomas said. “He came before me. That’s my guy. We talk a lot, and it’s just going out there and doing what I know to do.”
The last time Dayton played North Florida it was the second leg of what became a 20-game win streak to close out the 2019-20 season. This year it ended a short one-game skid after the Flyers lost 86-73 to Virginia its last time out on Dec. 6, but time will tell if history repeats itself.
Here are three takeaways from Dayton’s 10th game:
1: Montgomery shines offensively: Montgomery made it consecutive home games with a stellae offensive showing. He scored 23 points on 9 of 10 shooting and connected on all four of his three-point attempts. He also had four steals and a plus-33 differential while on the floor in only 21 minutes played.
He had a windmill dunk after one of the steals which allowed a prediction he told his mother on Friday to come to fruition.
“My mom was on the phone and I even told her I was like, if I get a fast break I’m going to windmill,” he said. “Obi Toppin is here so you’ve got to pull that out of the bag.”
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
2: An opponent cools off shooting from deep: Dayton’s three-point defense has been a talking point as in each of the three losses the opponent has shot better than 45 percent from the arc. As a team, the Flyers have allowed one of the highest shooting percentages in the country this season.
North Florida isn’t afraid to take as many threes as possible but shot the lowest percentage of any opponent against against Dayton this season, going 8-for-29 at 27.6%.
“Anytime you put up that volume of threes, the three-point line is a great equalizer in college basketball. It can change a game,” coach Anthony Grant said. “And we’ve had our struggles so far this year defending the three. And so the emphasis was to try to be able to do that while also being able to protect the rim and not give up easy sets at the rim.”
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
3: The Flyer Faithful turn out, sun, rain, or snow. Especially for Obi Toppin: Whether it was the players, coaches, or even Toppin himself, it was noticeable how few seats remained unfilled for Saturday’s game as several inches of snow fell in the Dayton-area. North Florida was already in town and the possibility of the game being postponed were slim.
“Just grateful to the Flyer faithful, you know, this wasn’t a pretty day out there today with the weather and to have so many people show up to support our team, to be there for the Hall of Fame inductees and a great day for those guys,” Grant said.
Fans brought their favorite posters, trading cards and other memorable to UD Arena in hopes of getting a chance to meet Toppin as he sat during the pregame near the tunnel Dayton uses near its bench. Many though just wanted a chance to say hi, hug, and get a photo with one the only consensus All-American Dayton has ever produced.
“It means the world to see all the fans out there, especially through the weather that we have now, it’s amazing,” Toppin said. “That just shows the love that everybody has not just for me, but also the Dayton basketball team. But it means the world, obviously to be inducted. It’s a big honor and I appreciate everybody who helped me throughout my journey to where I’m at now.”
It was a largely forgettable game with Dayton twice leading by as much as 37 points in the second half and never trailing after the first six minutes. Toppin’s presence made it memorable as potentially a final celebration for the 2020 Dayton team which had its season ended early by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Toppin was presented for the first time with his 2020 Naismith Men’s Player of the Year award during the under-8 timeout in the first half and got to raise it at center court in front of the home crowd. Then at halftime he got a final ovation along with Kelley Austria, Doug Hauschild, and Chris Lemon as part of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
“I’m super blessed and I feel all the love from everybody,” Toppin said.
NEXT GAME
Who: Florida State vs. Dayton
Where: UD Arena
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
Streaming: CBS Sports Network
Radio: 95.7-FM, 1290-AM
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