By Malcolm Price

10/19/2025

Keonte Jones Led The Flyers With 17 Points In the Exhibition

10/19/2025

DAYTON – The University of Dayton men’s basketball team led wire-to-wire in the CareSource Charity Exhibition game against Penn State on Sunday, coasting by the Nittany Lions 78-62 at UD Arena.

Graduate student Keonte Jones was UD’s top scorer with 17 points to go along with four rebounds, two assists, and a steal in his unofficial Flyer debut. Sophomore Amaël L’Etang also reached double digits, scoring 10 points and leading the team with seven rebounds on top of a team-leading five assists on the day. Sophomore Bryce Heard had a strong second half, scoring eight of his 10 points in the second stanza of the game.

UD outscored Penn State 42-30 in the paint and shot 48.4% from the floor compared to 39% for the Nittany Lions. The Flyers forced 14 turnovers, had 14 assists, and swiped nine steals.

GAME RECAP
First Half – Dayton 34, Penn State 29

• Keonte Jones put the Flyers on the board first with a layup and a drawn and one.
• Senior Jacob Conner hit a corner three just two minutes later to keep the early momentum rolling.
• Jones found the assist from L’Etang and dunked, making the score Dayton 9, Penn State 3.
• Javon Bennett nailed a three at 13:47, giving Dayton a 16-9 advantage.
• Moments later, Bryce Heard hit a turnaround jump shot to widen the lead.
• Jones battled under the basket for his eighth point with 9:00 on the clock in the first half.
• Bennett capitalized off of a turnover, turning around to sink another three, giving the Flyers a ten point lead.
• L’Etang made another basket, finishing off a rebound in the bottom of the first half, making the score Dayton 27, Penn State 20.
• Sophomore Adam Njie Jr. contributed to scoring with a made jumper with less than 5:00 remaining in the first half.
• Jones put the Flyers ahead 32-26 with an and-one in the closing minutes of the half.
• Jones made two more free throws in the final two minutes of the half to close out the scoring for UD

Second Half – Dayton 78, Penn State 62

• Jones began the half with authority, throwing down a dunk only 13 seconds into the second half.
• Junior De’Shayne Mongomery followed suit with a made layup off of a turnover.
• Montogomery then pulled down a long pass and put in another layup, widening the gap to a 42-29 UD advantage.
• Montgomery made the crowd roar with a one-handed slam for his sixth point in five minutes.
• Bennett drained a three-point shot with composure, pushing the Dayton lead to 51-34.
• Redshirt Freshman Malcolm Thomas electrified the crowd with an and-one dunk, making the free throw for the old-fashioned three-point play.
• Another Thomas slam at the 11:43 mark gave the Flyers a 20-point advantage at 56-36.
• An and-one by Heard brought him to eight points and made the score Dayton 63, Penn State 38.
• Redshirt Sophomore Jaiun Simon made a second-chance layup to give Dayton its biggest lead of the game of 27 at 67-40.
• Jones battled in the paint for his 17th point in his unofficial debut as a Flyer.
• Thomas was good for a corner three-pointer with 4:05 remaining in the game for his eight point of the contest.
• Friery sunk a three-pointer to give the Flyers a 16-point lead with under a minute left in the second half.
• Heard put the nail in the coffin, scoring the final point for the Flyers, chalking up a final score of Dayton 78, Penn State 62

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• 48.4 – shooting percentage for Dayton in the contest.
• 27 – Largest Flyer lead in the contest
• 17 – Points for Keonte Jones, leading all scorers
• 14 – turnovers forced by Dayton
• 14 – assists for the Flyers on 30 made baskets
• 10 – Points for Amaël L’Etang
• 10 – Points scored by Bryce Heard on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor
• 10 – Flyers that reached the scoring column in the exhibition
• 7 – Rebounds for L’Etang, leading all players

COURTESY DAYTON MEDIA RELATIONS