“It’s been a great run,” senior forward Ryan Perryman said after his final game. “I’ve never had so much fun in my life.”
“We had a good year in many respects,” coach Oliver Purnell said. “We had balance and chemistry. It was a fun team to coach.”
Dayton finished 21-12 in the 1997-98 season. It was the first 20-win season in eight years and came three years after the end of a three-run that saw the Flyers win a total of 17 games.
Nearly 28 years later, Penn State will return to UD Arena. The Nittany Lions and Flyers play an exhibition game at 2 p.m. Sunday. The game will air on the FanDuel Sports Network and ESPN+.
Here are five things to know about the game:
1: Charity game: This will be the third straight year Dayton has played a preseason exhibition game, sponsored by CareSource, against another Division I school. The games benefit Jay’s Light, the mental health and suicide prevention initiative created in honor of Dayton coach Anthony Grant’s daughter Jay, as well as the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation and other charities in the Dayton and Cincinnati area.
In 2023, in Dayton’s first charity exhibition game, Ohio State pulled away in the final 10 minutes for a 78-70 victory. Last year, in front of another sellout crowd at UD Arena, Xavier took control of the game late in the first half and never let Dayton make a serious run in the second half en route to a 98-74 victory.
The goal of this game against Penn State, Dayton forward Jacob Conner said, is to “do things the way that we’re supposed to do them. We want to make sure we’re doing the things we need to do on offense and that we’re in the right spots defensively. We need to make sure we’re communicating and we’re all on the same page. It’s not the the first game of the real season, but it is a big test early, and it’s a game we want to win as well.”
2: First of two: Dayton will play Bowling Green at 7 p.m. Oct. 27 at UD Arena in its second and final preseason game. This is the first time Dayton has played two Division I opponents in the preseason and the first time in recent memory Dayton hasn’t played a lower-division school, such as Cedarville University or Capital University, in the preseason.
The NCAA approved a proposal allowing teams to play two exhibition games against other four-year schools, including Division I teams, in January.
“This is new,” Grant said. “That’s not to say that we’ll always do this. We have relationships with some of the Division II and Division III schools in the state, and we don’t want to say we’re not doing that anymore, but this opportunity presented itself. We’re looking forward to seeing our team in live action and being in front of a crowd and putting them in that environment before the regular season.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
3: Familiar face: Third-year Penn State coach Mike Rhoades coached against Grant and Dayton for six seasons (2017-23) when he was the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth.
Rhoades was 10-5 overall and 3-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament against Dayton during his tenure at VCU.
“A lot of this business is about relationships,” Grant said, “and I’ve got a great relationship with coach Rhoades. I think he understands the importance of the mental health game to us and to me personally. When we reached out to them, he was more than willing to come in and play the game, which I’m obviously very grateful for.”
4: Scouting report: The Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook picked Penn State to finish 18th (or last) in the Big Ten this season. Penn State ranked 95th (last among Big Ten teams) in the preseason Ken Pomeroy ratings.
Penn State lost its top scorer, former A-10 Player of the Year Ace Baldwin, who played three seasons at VCU and two at Penn State, and three other double-digit scorers.
Three players from the 2024-25 roster return for Penn State, including 6-foot-5 redshirt junior guard Freddie Dilione V (9.4 points per game).
The 2025-26 roster includes two new transfers and seven freshmen. One of those freshmen, 6-3 guard Kayden Mingo, ranked 34th in the class of 2025, according to On3.com. He’s the highest-ranked recruit in Penn State history.
“Very talented for a 19-year-old,” Rhoades told reporters at Big Ten Media Day. “Beyond his years with maturity. A high-character kid. But he also has a will to win. We’re very lucky to have him, fortunate to have him. We’re going to give him the keys to the program right now and let him go, but we’re going to support him and help him.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
5: Players to watch: This will be the first opportunity for Dayton fans to see eight newcomers play — or most of them: transfers Keonte Jones, Jordan Derkack, Bryce Heard; De’Shayne Montgomery; and Adam Njie Jr.; and freshmen Damon Friery and Jaron McKie, who was sidelined with an injury when Grant last talked to local media on Oct. 8 and could still be out.
Of the four returners, most eyes will be on the two returning starters: sophomore forward Amaël L’Etang; and senior guard Javon Bennett. Conner is another player who could have a big impact.
Flying under the radar is redshirt sophomore forward Jaiun Simon, who along with Bennett is the only scholarship player on the roster in his third season with the Flyers.
Simon averaged 7.1 minutes last season and appeared in all but two games.
“Jaiun’s had a really good preseason,” Grant said, “and he’s a veteran. He got some really valuable experience last year after redshirting his first year. So I’ve been really pleased with Jaiun, and I think he’s a guy that can do a multitude of things for us.”
Credit: David Jablonski
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