Bennett added to his Dayton legacy with the type of moment that will be long remembered, especially if the team makes the most of it and wins an Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season championship.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
To win the A-10 for the first time in six years, Dayton needs to navigate the early part of its schedule without a loss or at least with no more than one defeat because the schedule gets much tougher later.
The challenge right now for Dayton is doing that without two injured big men: Amaël L’Etang; and Malcolm Thomas, both of whom likely will be sidelined again when Dayton (11-4) plays George Washington (11-4) at 8 p.m. Tuesday at UD Arena.
Dayton guard De’Shayne Montgomery said the games are “really hard, for sure,” without L’Etang and Thomas.
“We’ve got no rim protection,” Montgomery said. “Coaches are making adjustments, seeing which players can fit in certain positions.”
Montgomery scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half Saturday. He also recorded seven steals. He’s the first Flyer to hit that mark since Jordan Sibert had seven against St. Bonaventure in 2015.
Bennett scored Dayton’s last nine points and had 12 of his 24 points in the last seven minutes. He raised his season average to a team-best 16.6.
Only Bennett and Montgomery scored for the Flyers after a 3-pointer by Jaiun Simon with 8 minutes, 18 seconds to play.
Dayton had a 12.3% chance of winning when it faced a 63-52 deficit at the 6:30 mark. Dayton called a timeout at that point. Bennett hit a 3 after the timeout. That’s where the comeback began.
The Flyers ended the game on an 18-5 run. Loyola made 1 of 7 shots and committed three turnovers in the last six minutes.
“The coaches say we’ve got to fight through adversity,” Montgomery said. “Nothing’s going to be easy for us. No matter how down we are, no matter how much time’s on the clock, we believe that we can still win the game.”
The next game should be even more difficult, even though it’s at home. Here are five things to know about the matchup.
Credit: David Jablonski
1: Series history: Dayton leads the series 23-14.
UD beat George Washington 83-61 in its last visit to UD Arena in 2024. The Revolutionaries have lost 11 straight games, 10 of them by double digits, at Dayton since a 62-59 victory in 2005.
Last year, in the second A-10 game of the season, George Washington ended the game on a 13-0 run to beat Dayton 82-62 at the Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, D.C.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
2: State of the program: George Washington finished 21-13 overall and 9-9 in the A-10 last season. It was the program’s first 20-win season since 2016-17. Coach Chris Caputo is 63-50 in four seasons.
George Washington made one NCAA tournament appearance (2013-14) in the last 18 seasons after making eight appearances in 15 seasons.
With three of its top five scorers returning from last season. George Washington was picked to finish fourth in the A-10 preseason poll behind Virginia Commonwealth, Saint Louis and Dayton this season.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
3: Scouting report: Rafael Castro, a 6-foot-10 senior forward, led George Washington in scoring (14.0 points per game) and rebounding (8.9) last season and again leads the team this season (16.6 and 7.7). He had 27 points in a 99-85 victory against Richmond in George Washington’s A-10 opener and 26 points in a 77-55 victory at home against La Salle on Saturday.
• Garrett Johnson, a 6-8 fifth-year forward, averages 12.6 points and 4.6 rebounds. He averaged 13.4 points two seasons ago and missed last season with a torn ACL.
• Trey Autry, a 6-3 junior guard, averages 11.3 points. He ranks fourth in the A-10 in 3-point shooting percentage (31 of 68, 45.6%). He scored 17 points against Dayton last season on 6-of-6 shooting.
• Tre Dinkins, a 6-2, sixth-year guard, averages 10.4 points. He played at Duquesne last season.
• Christian Jones, a 6-2 sophomore guard, averages 10.4 points. He scored a team-high 23 points against Dayton last season. He made 5 of 8 3-pointers.
• George Washington ranks second in the A-10 in points per game (87.7) behind Saint Louis (95.0). Dayton is eighth (77.9).
4: Season summary: George Washington started the season 5-0. It beat South Florida, which is No. 65 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool, 99-95 in its second game on Nov. 8.
George Washington lost to the two highest-ranked teams on its non-conference schedule: 92-86 to No. 86 McNeese State on Nov. 23; and 80-70 to No. 27 Florida on Dec. 13.
George Washington suffered its worst loss at home Dec. 10: 70-58 to No. 307 Delaware.
Victories over Richmond and La Salle gave George Washington its first 2-0 start in A-10 play since the 2014-15 season. It seeks its first 3-0 start since the 2010-11 season.
Credit: David Jablonski
5: Odds & Ends: Dayton has a 58% chance of winning, according to KenPom.com, which predicts an 80-77 score.
Dayton has fallen to No. 79 in the Pomeroy ratings. That’s its lowest rating of the season. George Washington is No. 63.
• Dayton is No. 90 in the NET. George Washington is No. 66.
Dayton is 0-2 in Quad 1, 0-1 in Quad 2, 4-1 in Quad 3 and 7-0 in Quad 4. George Washington is 0-2 in Quad 1, 2-1 in Quad 2, 2-0 in Quad 3 and 6-1 in Quad 4.
• Dayton leads the A-10 in turnover margin (plus 5.4 per game) and steals (9.7).
NEXT GAME
Who: George Washington (11-4, 2-0) at Dayton (11-4, 2-0)
When: 8 p.m., Tuesday
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: 95.7-FM, 1290-AM
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