By Chris Garvin

GAME NOTES

https://daytonflyers.com/documents/2023/12/18/Oakland_Game.pdf

Game Time At UD Arena Is 7 P.M. ET

DAYTON — The  University of Dayton men’s basketball team returns to UD Arena on Wednesday to play Oakland.  Game time is 7 p.m. ET.

Wednesday’s game will be carried by WHIO Radio, televised locally by Spectrum News 1, and streamed on ESPN+.  Streaming audio, video and live stats is available at DaytonFlyers.com.

Dayton, 8-2, chalked up its most impressive win to date last Saturday, holding Cincinnati its season low in an 82-68 win in the Hoops Classic presented by altafiber and CareSource.  DaRon Homes II had a season-high 28 points and Kobe Elvis had a career-best 27.  Koby Brea added 12 points on for-for-five shooting from deep.

 #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 career record holder for blocked shots (171) and dunks (192).
• 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 second in the A-10 in 3-pt. FG% (.548, 17-31).
• Santos needed 10 games to match what he scored in two years at Pitt (116 points in 54 G).
• Koby Brea is fourth at UD in career 3-pt. FG% (.413, 155-373).  Negele Knight is third (.425).
• 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
• The Flyers close out non-conference play on Saturday, Dec. 30 at UD Arena vs. Longwood.
• Game time is 2 p.m. ET.
• Dayton opens Atlantic 10 play at Davidson on Wednesday, Jan. 3.

COURTESY DAYTON MEDIA RELATIONS