Paxson and Waleskowski played at UD about 25 years apart. They combined to score 3,460 points. Every member of the Flyer Faithful knows their faces and stories well, which makes them much different than most of the current Flyers.
Dayton fans saw the 2025-26 team for the second time Monday, and this time, the players wore their official uniforms with their names on the back. They wore practice jerseys during a 78-62 victory against Penn State on Oct. 19 at UD Arena.
While Dayton fans may still have work to do in identifying the eight newcomers on the roster, they have to like what they see on the court. The Flyers trailed by as many as eight points in the first half and faced 30-27 halftime deficit but won the second half 63-29. They routed Bowling Green 90-59 in their final tuneup one week before the season opener against Canisius.
“It was from my perspective a really good game for us,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said.
The final score didn’t indicate how competitive Bowling Green was for the first 28 minutes. The Falcons led 45-43 with 11:49 to play. Dayton scored the next six points and led the rest of the way. The Flyers put the game away with a 12-0 run that started at the 7:07 mark. They led by as many as 31 points.
“In the second half, I thought our guys did a much better job of settling in,” Grant said. “We were able to have our defense create offense for us. I think that could be a strength of our team. When the ball is moving, when we’re playing in the open floor, I think that’s when we’re at our best.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Here are three takeaways from the game:
1: Dayton played short-handed: The Flyers started the season with 12 scholarship players and had nine available Monday. That led to walk-on Evan Dickey playing two minutes in the first half.
Freshman guard Jaron McKie will miss the season with a shoulder injury.
Rutgers transfer Jordan Derkack missed his second straight game after taking a hard fall in practice. Grant said they don’t want to rush him back and he’ll be “a valuable piece for us when he’s ready.”
Sophomore guard Adam Njie Jr. warmed up with the team before the game but watched the game from the bench in streetclothes. Dayton announced Sunday night that Njie “will not be participating in athletic competition at this time” because of “potential eligibility concerns.”
According to a report by Pat Forde, of Sports Illustrated, “Njie’s situation is connected to the ongoing investigation of gambling-related activity in college basketball.”
Asked after the game what he could say about Njie’s situation, Grant said, “He’s a great young man, and he wants to be out there competing with his team. For me, it’s about the young man and just helping him navigate through this. He wants to play. He’s a competitor like everybody else, so we’re going to support him in any way we can.”
Credit: David Jablonski
2: The Flyers showed improved 3-point shooting in the second half: Dayton made 2 of 14 3-pointers in the first half and 9 of 16 in the second half, finishing at 35% (11 of 31). Against Penn State, they made 7 of 27 (25.9%).
“Our coaches told us it’s a 40-minute game,” guard Javon Bennett said, “so we stuck with it and had confidence in each other.”
Bennett had the most success, making 5 of 9 3s after hitting 3 of 6 against Penn State. He led Dayton with 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting.
Amaël L’Etang made 2 of 3 3s after missing all five of his attempts against Penn State. He scored 15 points.
De’Shayne Montgomery made 2 of 7 3s and scored 16 points.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
3: Dayton’s defense again looked like a strength: Dayton held Penn State to 39.2% shooting (24 of 61). Bowling Green shot 39.3% (30 of 62).
Bowling Green committed 20 turnovers. Bennett had seven of Dayton’s 12 steals.
Grant said the defense wore Bowling Green down over the 40 minutes and was the difference in the game.
“That’s one of the things that I think this team will be capable of,” he said. “Again, it’s preseason. We’ve got some areas that we’ll get better at on both sides of the ball. They hurt us in the first half on the offensive glass. They got back about half of their misses in the first half. We were able to correct that in the second half. We’ll just continue to take these lessons and learn from them.”
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