Javon Bennett, Jordan Derkack start in A-10 quarterfinal victory vs. St. Bonaventure
Derkack committed to Dayton 11 months in the past He adopted the Flyers the final two seasons due to their connection to Bennett — they performed collectively as freshmen at Merrimack — however did he have any thought how a lot the Flyers have struggled in this postseason occasion through the years?
“Javon has kind of told me,” Derkack mentioned, “in those late nights in the hotel, just talking.”
“Do you have any idea how long it has been since Dayton won the tournament?,” he was requested.
“No idea,” Derkack mentioned. “I know (Anthony Grant) has never won the tournament.”
The reply, because the Flyer Faithful is aware of nicely, is 23 years. Dayton gained the occasion in 2003 at UD Arena. It has reached the championship recreation thrice since (2011, 2015 and 2023) beneath three completely different coaches (Brian Gregory, Archie Miller and Anthony Grant) and misplaced every time. It has the longest present drought of any former champion.
After No. 4 seed Dayton (22-10) beat No. 13 St. Bonaventure (17-17) in the quarterfinals, sustaining the lead for the final 12 minutes with out having greater than a six-point benefit, the Flyers are two wins away from that elusive championship.
“I’m just excited for the Dayton community and the Dayton coaches,” Derkack mentioned. “Javon’s been here for three years, and this is his first (A-10 tournament victory), so I’m happy for him.”
Bennett skilled losses to Duquesne and Saint Joseph’s in the quarterfinals in his first two seasons at Dayton. The Flyers prevented that destiny Friday and ended a three-game A-10 match dropping streak that began with a 68-56 loss to Virginia Commonwealth in the 2023 championship.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Bennett mentioned. “You come in every year trying to play as far as you can in March. Just being able to win and do it with this group of guys with what we’ve been through this season, it means a lot.”
For St. Bonaventure, which fell in need of turning into the lowest-seeded staff to succeed in the semifinals, the loss meant the top of Mark Schmidt’s 19-year run as head coach. He introduced Saturday he would retire after the 2025-26 season.
“Hat’s off to St. Bonaventure,” Grant mentioned. “It was a heck of a fight. Coach Schmidt, obviously in my opinion, is one of the best coaches in the country. It’s been an honor to be able to compete against his teams for the last nine years. His career and what he’s been able to do at St. Bonaventure will speak for itself.”
Here are three takeaways from Dayton’s thirty second recreation:
1: The victory units up a rematch with Saint Louis: Dayton will play the No. 1 seed Billikens (28-4) at 1 pm Saturday in the semifinals. The recreation will air on the CBS Sports Network.
Saint Louis rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat No. 9 seed George Washington 88-81 in the primary quarterfinal Friday.
Saint Louis blew a nine-point lead of its personal in the ultimate 5 minutes however outscored George Washington 10-2 in the ultimate 90 seconds after George Washington took a 79-78 lead on a 3-point play by Rafael Castro with 1 minute, 47 seconds remaining.
“They were able to get a hard-fought win today,” Grant mentioned. “We were able to get a hard-fought win today. So we’ve got to be able to get our guys to focus on the next thing and put this behind us.”
Dayton and Saint Louis break up two video games in the common season. Saint Louis routed Dayton 102-71 in St. Louis on Jan. 30. Dayton constructed a 25-point lead towards the Billikens at UD Arena on Feb. 24 after which coasted to a 77-62 victory.
Dayton is 1-3 towards Saint Louis in the A-10 match. The final time they performed in the 2019 quarterfinals, Saint Louis won 64-55 on its method to its most up-to-date A-10 match championship.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
2: Bennett carried the Dayton offense: He scored 27 factors on 8-of-12 capturing. I made 6 of 10 3-pointers and 5 of 6 free throws.
Bennett made 4 of 6 3s in the primary half, lifting Dayton to a 30-27 halftime lead.
“He was massive for us tonight, especially in the first half, just keeping us alive,” Derkack mentioned. “We were in a little bit of a rough patch offensively early in the first half.”
Bennett fell one level in need of tying the very best factors complete by a Flyer in the A-10 match since at the least 2005.
Daron Holmes II scored 28 factors as soon as in the 2022 match and once more in 2023. Toumani Camara additionally had a 28-point efficiency in 2023.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
3: Derkack’s capacity to get to the free-throw line saved Dayton once more: I scored 15 factors and made 10 of 12 free throws.
In the ultimate 5 minutes, Derkack made 7 of 8 free throws. It was an identical story two video games earlier in a 68-66 victory at Richmond when Derkack scored the final 5 factors of the sport with three of them coming on the line. In a 72-70 victory towards St. Bonaventure at UD Arena on Feb. 9, Derkack made 12 of 15 free throws.
The St. Bonaventure gamers knew what Derkack was attempting to do. He ranks second in the nation in free-throw price, which measures a participant’s capacity to get to the road.
At one level in the primary half, gamers on the finish of the St. Bonaventure bench yelled at their teammates, “Don’t jump,” when Derkack received the ball in the paint. He nonetheless drew a foul.
“When I’m in the game, all I can really think about is trying to win,” Derkack mentioned. “Coach always preaches, ‘Let’s figure out a way to win this game.’ In this case, I thought that getting fouled and getting to the free-throw line was going to be the best possible situation for us to win.”
NEXT GAME
Who: No. 4 seed Dayton vs. No. 1 seed Saint Louis
When: 1 pm, Saturday
Where: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh
What: A-10 match semi-finals
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: 95.7-FM, 1290-AM
