Dayton Denies Men’s Basketball’s Upset Win with Late Comeback

The Loyola men’s basketball team failed to hold on to their 32-minute lead against the University of Dayton Jan. 3, falling to the Flyers 70-68. Redshirt third-year guard Justin Moore tallied a team-high 19 points for the Ramblers, while Dayton’s fourth-year guard Javon Bennett dropped a game high 24. 

First-year guard Chuck Love III, second-year guard Daniil Glazkov and graduate guard Dominick Harris were all out for the Ramblers during the game. According to head coach Drew Valentine, Love III is out for an estimated 2-3 weeks with a knee injury sustained in practice, Glazkov is day-to-day with a hand injury and Harris looks to be out for the rest of the season with an undisclosed injury. Sources told The Phoenix he has yet to be at a conference game this season. 

Fourth-year forward Xavier Amos and second-year guard Kayde Dotson got the game started for Loyola with a 5-0 run, courtesy of a layup and 3-pointer, respectively. Dayton repeated the actions with a Bennett layup and 3-pointer to tie it at five. 

Bennett continued his run with a wide-open three to take the lead. Dayton’s fourth-year guard Jordan Derkack scored his lone point of the game at the line, prior to two Loyola dunks — one from fourth-year center Alexander Richardson and Amos — to tie the game at nine. 

Dotson added a layup to the board, followed by a three from Dayton’s second-year guard Bryce Heard. Third-year center Miles Rubin reclaimed the lead for the Ramblers with a layup as Dayton continued on a two-minute scoring drought, eventually broken by fourth-year forward Jacob Conner with a three. 

Fourth-year forward Joshua Ola-Joseph tied the game at 15 with a dunk before Rubin drove in a layup for the lead. Ola-Joseph and Moore kept the Ramblers cooking with a 3-pointer each. Dotson also hit a three, causing a Dayton timeout, now down 26-15. 

Heard made two at the line after being fouled by Amos, and Dotson responded with a three to take a 12-point advantage over the Flyers. Heard added two more at the line, which third-year guard Deywilk Tavarez answered with a 3-pointer for a 32-19 lead. 

Heard hit a jumper, which Rubin met with a layup. Dayton’s graduate guard Keonte Jones slammed home a dunk and drew a foul from Tavarez, making the subsequent and-one to decrease the deficit to 10. 

Moore came back with a 3-pointer, and Richardson set fourth-year guard Kymany Houinsou up for a dunk. A 7-0 Dayton run ended the first half, starting with a 3-pointer from third-year guard De’Shayne Montgomery. Bennett added two more at the line before a steal and score from redshirt second-year forward Jaiun Simon, ending the first half 39-31 in favor of the Ramblers. 

Jones opened the second half with a jumper, which Dotson answered with a layup. Montgomery racked in a steal and score to make it a 41-35 game. 

Moore sank a three, and Jones hit a jumper before Houinsou grabbed an offensive rebound and sent in a layup. Montgomery added a dunk to the board, and Rubin drove in a layup with Loyola maintaining the lead at 48-39. 

Jones stole a possession from Amos and found Montgomery for a layup before adding one to the line. Dotson added a three before Simon made a lone free throw. Moore hit a jumper to claim a 10-point advantage over the Flyers. 

Rubin added a layup before a brief scoring drought, ending with two at the line from Montgomery. Amos grabbed a miss from Tavarez and laid it in while Moore added a jumper. A three from Simon was met with traded field goals from Moore and Montgomery. 

Moore completed a three-point play, which Bennett cancelled out with a three. Montgomery recorded another steal and score before making four at the line from two separate foul calls to make it a 63-61 game. 

Moore kept the Ramblers ahead with a jumper, but Bennett tied it with two at the line, prompting a Dayton timeout. 

Houinsou gave the lead back to the Ramblers with one at the line before another Dayton timeout, and Bennett made three more to reclaim the lead. Houinsou scored another two at the line to tie it again at 68, scoring the final points for Loyola. 

Following a Loyola timeout, Bennett got the ball and sent in a layup to reclaim the lead. On Loyola’s last chance attempt, Houinsou’s inbound pass to Rubin was stolen by Montgomery, ending the game 70-68. 

Valentine said he was proud of the game play from the Ramblers, but said they need to work on their late game execution. 

“[Dayton] did a really good job at putting pressure in the paint on us,” Valentine said. “Our overall offensive pace and execution was not good. We looked confused, we looked like we didn’t know what we were doing when we practiced those situations a lot. That’s the reality.” 

The Ramblers keep their home court advantage for their next game against Davidson College Jan. 7. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. and can be streamed on CBS Sports Network.