By Skip Coopersmith
GAME NOTES
https://daytonflyers.com/documents/2023/12/13/UC_Game.pdf
DAYTON —With semester exams creating a week between games, the University of Dayton men’s basketball team will travel down I-75 to play Cincinnati in the Hoops Classic presented by altafiber and CareSource at the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati. Game time is 7 p.m. ET.
Saturday’s game will be carried by WHIO Radio, and streamed on ESPN+. Streaming audio, video and live stats is available at DaytonFlyers.com.
Dayton, 7-2, held off a pesky Troy squad 82-70 at UD Arena last Saturday. Kobe Elvis scored a career-high 24 points, backed by DaRon Homes II (23 points, career-high 17 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots) and Javon Bennett (11 points).
#TRENDING
• Dayton is the preseason favorite in the Atlantic 10 in the annual vote of the league’s coaches and selected media. The Flyers received 20 of the 25 first-place votes cast.
• DaRon Holmes II was named Preseason First Team All-Atlantic 10 and to the Preseason All-Defensive Team. He was the only player on the first team and the defensive team.
• Last season, he was also First Team All-A-10 and on the All-Defensive Team as well the Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 Men’s Basketball Championship (21.7 ppg., 10.1 rpg., 4.0 bpg.).
• Holmes is on three prestigious preseason watch lists — Atlanta Tip-Off Club’s Naismith Award, the Los Angeles Athletic Club’s John R. Wooden Award and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s Karl Malone Award.
• Holmes led UD in scoring (18.4), and was second in rebounding (8.1) in 2022-23 He was the only player in the A-10 to be in the top five in both. He also led the A-10 in blocked shots (1.94).
• Holmes had the most dunks in D-I in the regular season (89) in 2022-23. He led all freshmen and was sixth overall with 81 in 2021-22. UD’s first bucket of the year was a Holmes dunk.
• Holmes is now the Dayton record holder for career blocked shots (166). He broke Chris Wright’s old record of 162 in the Grambling game (just 77 games into his career).
• He is also tied with Obi Toppin for the most career record dunks at UD (190).
• Nate Santos was named to the Charleston Classic All-Tournament Team. UD finished second in Charleston. He was also named Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week on Nov. 20.
• He is third in the A-10 in 3-pt. FG% (.607, 17-28).
• Santos needs one point to match what he scored in two years at Pitt (116 points in 54 G).
• Malachi Smith was injured seven minutes into the opener, and after successful surgery on a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee on Nov. 8, he will miss the rest of the 2023-24 season.
• The Flyers are currently third in the A-10 in scoring defense (64.8 points a game).
• Dayton’s second-place finish at the Shriners Children’s Hospitals Charleston Classic was the third time in the last four MTEs that Dayton has played in that the Flyers reached the championship game (and 25th in school history). UD was second in the 2019 Maui Jim Maui Invitational, and won the 2021 ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando.
UP NEXT
• Dayton is back home against Oakland on Wednesday, Dec. 20. Game time is 7 p.m. ET.
• The Flyers close out non-conference play on Saturday, Dec. 30 at UD Arena vs. Longwood.
COURTESY DAYTON MEDIA RELATIONS
