Flyers Come Up Short 70-68; Kobe Elvis’ 20 Points Ties Career High

NASHVILLE – The University of Dayton Men’s Basketball team concluded the 2021-2022 season Sunday with a second-round overtime NIT loss at Vanderbilt by the score of 70-68.  Dayton finishes the season 24-11 while Vanderbilt improves to 19-16 and advances to the NIT Quarterfinal.

The Flyers were led by redshirt freshman Kobe Elvis who tied a career-high 20 points while also having five assists and three rebounds.  Elvis was joined in double digits by freshman DaRon Holmes II with 17 points, and sophomore Toumani Camara who had 11 points.

GAME BREAKDOWN
1st Half: Dayton 26, Vanderbilt 25

• Dayton opened the game up 4-0 two minutes in off consecutive baskets from DaRon Holmes II.
• Vanderbilt used an 8-0 run to go up 10-6.  Former Flyer Rodney Chatman had six of the Commodores’ first 10 points.
• The Vandy run continued as Dayton was held scoreless for over four minutes and trailed 14-6.
• Vanderbilt continued to lead 17-8 nine minutes in, as the Commodores shot 60% from three to open the contest.
• Over the first 10 minutes, the Flyers had just four points off 33% shooting and four turnovers.
• Dayton’s offense heated up, with an 8-0 run to reduce the deficit to two.  Kobe Elvis had six of UD’s eight points during the run.
• The Dayton run continued with a layup by Moulaye Sissoko to tie the game at 18 with 6:12 remaining.
• The Commodores were held scoreless for over six minutes, as Vandy missed nine straight shots.
• Sissoko and Holmes II led the Flyers in the half with eight points each.  Sissoko’s eight points were in just six minutes off 4-4 shooting.
• The Flyers shot 46% from the field in the half, despite going 0-7 from three.  Vanderbilt shot 36%.
• Both teams saw scoring runs of 10 points or more during the half.  Both offenses had scoreless droughts of four minutes or longer.

2nd Half: Dayton 63, Vanderbilt 63

• Both teams combined for just four made free throws over the first four minutes of the half, as Dayton led 31-30.
• Throughout the first eight minutes of the half, it was never more than a two-point game as Vanderbilt led 40-38.
• Neither team scored for over a two-minute stretch as the game was tied at 40 with 10 minutes left to play.
• An 8-0 run by Vanderbilt put the Commodores up 48-40.  The Flyers turned the ball over on three straight possessions during the run.
• A three from Koby Brea put the Flyers back to within three with 6:50 left.
• The Dayton defense held Vanderbilt to without a made FG for over three minutes, as a layup from Holmes II brought the Flyers to within two with 4:35 remaining.
• Two made free throws by Toumani Camara tied the game at 53 all with three minutes to go.
• Following a Vanderbilt turnover, a layup from Elvis put the Flyers up 58-57 with 2:23 left.
• With the game tied with 1:08 left, a Camara layup put the Flyers ahead 63-61.
• After another Vanderbilt layup, and a tied game, a block from Holmes II with seconds remaining sent the game to overtime.

Overtime: Vanderbilt 70, Dayton 68

• This was the Flyer’s first overtime game of the season.
• After two minutes of play, Vanderbilt led 68-64 after making a three.
• Dayton responded with four straight made free throws by R.J. Blakney and Camara.  This tied the game at 68 with 1:20 left.
• After getting a pair of offensive rebounds, a shot by Vanderbilt put the Commodores ahead by two with 33 seconds left.
• On the ensuing possession, Dayton turned the ball over, and Vanderbilt missed two free throws, to give the Flyers the ball down two with 12 seconds remaining.
• Kobe Elvis’ broken play layup attempt to tie the game was blocked in the final seconds.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Three Flyers hit double-digits, Kobe Elvis (20), DaRon Holmes II (17), and Toumani Camara (11).
• Dayton totaled 35 rebounds, with Holmes II leading the way with eight, while Camara had five.
• The Commodores benefited from 11 offensive rebounds, which created nine second-chance points.  Seven of the nine were in the second half or overtime.
• Dayton shot 25% from three, with Elvis making two, while Vanderbilt shot 38%.
• Elvis accounted for five of the Flyer’s nine assists.
• The lead changed 13 times in the tight contest, and the game was tied eight times.
• Dayton saw a scoring advantage in the post, scoring 42 points compared to Vanderbilt’s 24.
• The Flyers turned the ball over 13 times in the contest while forcing Vandy into just nine turnovers.
• Despite missing the final two games with an ankle injury, freshman Malachi Smith finished the season with 308 points, which is the 11th most points a freshman has scored in Dayton history.
• The Flyer point guard also finished with 175 assists, which is the second most assist a freshman has had in Dayton history, and the seventh most any Flyer has had in a season.
• Smith’s 59 steals were the most by a Flyer freshman, and the fifth-most in a season at UD.
• DaRon Holmes II finished the season with a program record-high 81 blocks.  Holmes II also tied the program record for most blocked shots in a game (six) on three different occasions.
• Holmes II scored a team-high 449 points this season.  This is the second-most points a freshman has scored in program history, trailing only Obi Toppin’s 475 in 2018-2019.
• The Flyer big man’s field goal percentage of .649 (182-282) is the second-best mark (behind Toppin’s .666), and the fifth-best overall.
• All three marks were the best at UD by a true freshman.  (Toppin was a redshirt freshman in 2018-19.)

COURTESY DAYTON MEDIA RELATIONS