Flyers Fueled by Celebrity Appearance in Comeback Win
(Photo via @daytonmbb Instagram)
TJ Thompson | Sports Editor
The atmosphere at UD Arena was bleak at halftime on Tuesday night, as the University of Dayton Flyers found themselves trailing by 13 points against their A-10 rival, the Saint Louis Billikens. Then, an unsuspecting guest found his way to his seat, and the game turned on its head.
Comedian Dave Chappelle was sitting courtside for the second half of the game. Chappelle, who lives in Yellow Springs, a small town 30 minutes from Dayton, had never been to a game at UD Arena. David Jablonski from the Dayton Daily News reported that Chappelle expressed interest in making a return sometime.
Senior Enoch Cheeks (13.4 ppg) didn’t even recognize the comedian when he sat down, “We was walking through the tunnel I was dapping up everybody and I was like yo that guy kind of looks like Dave Chappelle, then walking back to the locker room I was like yo that is Dave Chappelle.” Cheeks had a huge impact on the Flyer’s victory. He had 17 points and pulled in nine rebounds and two back-to-back threes with just over seven minutes to play, tied the game at 60, and had all the momentum back to the Flyers that they rode to the end of the game winning 75-67.
Not only was Chappelle a turning point in the game, but the atmosphere in the arena played a huge role in the Flyers’ victory. This was the last home game, which meant for many of the players their last chance to show out in front of the home crowd. Senior Zed Key (9.4 ppg) mentioned during his post-game press conference that it was a great feeling to win in the final home game and that the atmosphere was great, allowing the Flyers to come together as a team.
The Flyers struggled to defend the Billikens three-point attack in the first half. St. Louis shot 16 threes and converted on eight of them in the half. Senior Guard Gibson Jimerson (17.7 ppg) was giving the Flyers fits, knocking down seven threes during the game. The defensive adjustment made at halftime was for Key to close out on Jimerson and create a tougher shot. Key talked about what the coaches told them at the half, “Coaches were emphasizing get up on the three-point line, so it just has the urgency to do what the coaches ask you to do.”
This change worked as the Billikens put up 16 threes again in the second half, but only four saw the bottom of the net. Head Coach Anthony Grant, in his postgame presser, said that going into the second half, they were going to need to grind it out on defense and turn those stops into success on the other end.
“Our pressure warmed down in the second half, and some of those shots that went in in the first half didn’t go in, we took them out of some things that they were having success with.” Grant said, “It was going to take everything we have as a unit to be able to get the win, that we owed that to each other, and we owed it to our fan base.”
The Flyers celebrated in the tunnel after the game, getting a team picture with Chappelle. Grant was even late for his press conference, saying, “It’s not every day you have Dave Chappelle in the building.” The Flyers close out the season on the road against A-10 leader VCU. This is a huge game for the Flyers as they look to secure the third seed in the A-10 tournament and grow confidence and belief that they can go on a run. The tournament starts in Washington, D.C., on March 12.