That happened five times. Two Seminoles fouled out on one play in the second half, Cam Miles picking up a foul the old-fashioned way and Lajae Jones committing a technical foul for his fifth.
Fans did not hear all the lyrics from “Bye Bye Bye,” though one line — “I know that I can’t take no more” — would describe what Florida State had to be feeling during a 97-69 loss to the Dayton Flyers.
The Seminoles committed 31 fouls. That led to Dayton making 40 of 47 free throws (85.1%), both single-game highs for Dayton or an opposing team in the 57 seasons of basketball at UD Arena.
“We watched the film,” Dayton guard Jordan Derkack said, “so we knew we were going to be at the free-throw line a little bit tonight.”
Dayton improved its season free-throw percentage from 70.9% to 72.9% with its best percentage of the season. It has shot 80% or better three times.
In the previous game, Dayton made 8 of 17 in an 84-61 victory against North Florida on Saturday.
“A couple of days ago, we had the group shoot some extra ones,“ Dayton coach Anthony Grant said, ”but for the most part, over the course of practice, we have a routine that we’ll typically do with the guys, where they are continuously going to the line. What we ask them to do is try to make it as game-like as possible, to put themselves in game situations, so that when they get in the game, it’s nothing new. They have a routine they stick to.”
That practice paid off in Dayton’s most lopsided victory since an 88-48 victory against Canisius in the season opener. The Flyers (9-3) won their 33rd straight non-conference home game, ended a four-game losing streak against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents and took a 4-3 lead in the series against the Seminoles, while Florida State (5-6) suffered its fifth straight loss.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Here are three takeaways from Dayton’s 12th game:
1: Three players were perfect at the line: Javon Bennett made 12 of 12 free throws and scored a team-high 25 points.
Amaël L’Etang made 8 of 8 free throws, scoring 10 points.
Jacob Conner made both of his attempts.
Derkack made 8 of 10 and scored 13 points. He leads the team in attempts (52 of 77, 67.5%).
De’Shayne Montgomery made 5 of 7 and scored 20 points.
“Coach had us shoot 100 free throws a piece the other day,” Montgomery said. “That helped us out today.”
Credit: David Jablonski
2: Dayton’s defense did its part: Grant talked to his good friend and former Miami Senior High School classmate Frank Martin in preparation for the game. Martin coached Massachusetts to a 103-95 victory against Florida State on Saturday in Sunrise, Fla.
Martin told Grant that Florida State plays fast and physical. The Seminoles offense ranks ninth in the country in average possession length (14.9 seconds), according to KenPom.com.
Against Dayton, Florida State shot 43.9% from 2-point range. That’s its second-worst number of the season. It made 8 of 27 3-pointers (29.6%), just below its season average of 31.2%.
Florida State also committed a season-high 20 turnovers.
“I thought it was a great effort tonight,” Grant said. “The thing that I’ve challenged our group with is to try to put together two halves of playing to a standard, and I thought tonight we were able to move closer toward being able to do that. Obviously, you look at (Florida State’s) record, and the record doesn’t indicate what they’re capable of. You’re talking about a team that’s averaging over 85 points a game, that’s got a 54% 3-point rate with a variety of different guys that can shoot the 3, a team that was turning people over at a rate that’s top 10 in the country and creating offense out of that.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
3: Dayton’s depth could soon get a boost: Sean Pouedet, the 6-foot-2 guard from Belgium, sat on the bench during the game. He started practicing this week after arriving on campus last week and ran the scout team in advance of this game.
Grant said the earliest Pouedet could play is Saturday when Dayton plays Liberty (7-3) at 12:30 p.m. at UD Arena, though there’s no guarantee he’ll see time in that game.
“We’re trying to get him up to speed with what we’re doing,” Grant said. “He’s a veteran in terms of having played basketball, so it’s probably more terminology understanding, ‘This is what we call it here. This is what we’re trying to do.’ That’ll be new for him. And I think these next few days here will hopefully tell us a little bit more.”
Even though there’s a new roster limit of 15 players in college basketball, Dayton doesn’t have to adjust its roster to make room for Pouedet, the 16th player on the roster. That’s because the NCAA implemented a “grandfather clause,” so that student-athletes on the roster in previous seasons will not count against the roster limit as long as they still have eligibility.
Dayton guard Adam Njie Jr., who has not played this season because of a potential eligibility issue, was not on the bench Tuesday.
“Finals just ended, so he was able to get home to try to take care of some things at home,” Grant said. “We’re still waiting to see what the NCAA will decide.”
NEXT GAME
Who: Liberty at Dayton
When: 12:30 p.m., Saturday
Streaming: USA Network
Radio: 95.7-FM, 1290-AM
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