Flyers dominate Western Michigan 67-47 at home
Mustapha Amzil shooting a 3-pointer. Photo by Keegan Gupta, director of digital media & photography.
Andrew Corbett | Contributing Writer
Following a disappointing stint in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas, the Flyers men’s basketball team returned home on Wednesday to face off against the Broncos of Western Michigan.
Dayton entered the matchup at 3-4, while Western Michigan entered at 2-5, under first-year head coach Dwayne Stephens.
It took a few possessions for the Flyers to find some energy, but after a Mike Sharavjamts
reverse layup the team found the momentum they needed. On the other end of the floor, the Broncos couldn’t get anything going, as the Flyers defense was suffocating them.
DaRon Holmes II was seemingly unstoppable, leading with 24 points, which led all scorers from the matchup. Holmes was also very active on the defensive side, tallying two blocks, including a behind the back block on a would-be layup.
In addition to Holmes performance, Toumani Camara also put up 17 points and 5 rebounds. Camara was a game changer for the Flyers. Whenever this team needed energy, he was
there to provide it. With 4:59 left in the first half, Camara got a steal from behind, where
he would end up dunking the ball in the transition.
The Flyers wound up taking a 37-24 lead into halftime, while shooting 54.5% from the field.
Camara and Holmes led the team in the first half with their playmaking ability.
To start the second half, the Flyers switched to a zone defense. One thing that didn’t change: Holmes’s dominance. Holmes continued to dominate in the post, and on defense. To go along with his 24 points, Holmes also tallied 10 rebounds.
The second half was owned by the Flyers, largely due to their transition offense. The Flyers
were very good in transition all game, ultimately leading to their 20-point win over Western
Michigan.
Early in the second half, the referees gathered at midcourt and had a lengthy discussion. The
outcome, double fouls. Nobody in the arena knew what was happening.
After the game, head coach Anthony Grant explained that both referees made different calls, and neither one of them wanted to admit that their call was wrong. Grant said that typically one referee will back off and let the other make the call, but that wasn’t the circumstance here.
“I have never seen that before,” Grant said.
Another key for the Flyers was Mustapha Amzil. Filling in for the injured Kobe Elvis, Amzil put
up 14 points and 10 rebounds, being one of two Flyers to put up a double-double in the game.
While the Flyers were dominant in the paint, they continued to struggle from beyond the arc,
shooting 18.8%. After the game, Toumani Camara said that going forward he expects the 3-pointers to start to fall, as they get more comfortable with the shot.
“Be good at what you’re good at,” Camara said.
The Flyers did just that on Wednesday against the Broncos, as Camara and Holmes dominated the paint, which ultimately led to a Flyers victory.
After the game, Holmes was asked about the chemistry between himself and Camara. He
responded by saying that it will only be getting better, as the season goes on.
“He’s not stronger than me yet,” Holmes went on to joke.
Holmes said the key going forward is to stay locked in and good things will happen.
Holmes talked about how great it is playing in front of a sold-out UD arena, and Grant
echoed that by saying, “We love playing in front of the Flyer faithful, best fans in the country.”
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