Tom Archdeacon: Davis saves day, steals spotlight for Dayton Flyers

Pierre’s return uncertain as Flyers move forward

Credit: David Jablonski/Staff

Credit: David Jablonski/Staff

Kyle Davis did the seemingly impossible.

And I’m not just talking about hitting the game-winning shot against Miami with three seconds left.

Every Dayton Flyer fan coming into UD Arena Tuesday night was talking about Dyshawn Pierre, but they all left talking about Davis.

Miami led 64-63 and had three shots at basket with 14 seconds left — two at point-blank range — and missed them all. Dayton guard Charles Cooke got the rebound and brought the ball up the court in the final seconds with what seemed to be all 13,206 fans in the arena standing and roaring.

“I was thinking, ‘Slow it down,’ but I noticed their guy (Abdoulaye Harouna) playing me a little too hard,” Cooke said. “I gave him a crossover to get to the basket, but I saw two defenders coming in from the left side…At least I believe I saw two defenders.

“That’s when I kicked it to Kyle, and he slashed through the lane.”

Davis, who has turned the ball over at a costly juncture a minute before was hoping for redemption, and this was his opportunity.

“As soon as I got the ball, actually heard Scoochie (point guard Scoochie Smith was on the bench) in my ear yelling ‘Shoot the ball! Shoot the ball!,’” Davis said. “I just thought, ‘Man, I’m gonna live on the drive and take my chance of getting fouled. It was an unexpected shot. I drove to the basket and just tried to float it with my left.”

The shot — with just 2.1 seconds left — gave Dayton the 64-63 victory and the Flyers eighth win in the past nine games against the RedHawks and the 71st in 132 games in a series that began in 1909.

“That was just an incredible shot made by Kyle,” UD coach Archie Miller said afterward. “Like I told Coach Cooper (Miami’s John Cooper) after: If he shoots it 100 times, I don’t know if he could make that one more than a couple times.’

“But as Coach Cooper told me, ‘He made it at the right time.’

“Give Kyle a lot of credit. He had had a tough turnover right before that and for him to be able mentally to recover… (was great.)”

In those final minutes — after UD had blown an 11-point lead in the second half — Miller was wondering if he should have dressed Pierre Tuesday night, rather than have him sit in street clothes at the end of the bench

The team’s leading scorer and rebounder last year and one of four co-captains named before this preseason began, Pierre returned to practice Sunday after being suspended from the university for the semester after a sexual assault allegation by a female UD student-athlete.

Pierre has denied the allegation and said the sexual encounter was consensual. He was never arrested and the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s office declined to press charges “due to insufficient evidence.”

After missing the first 10 games, Pierre was eligible to play against the RedHawks, but Miller — at the prompting of his assistant coaches, he said — decided to ease him back into the fold.

When Pierre appeared on the court with the team at the 6:57 mark before the game, many people in the crowd cheered. In the Red Scare student section, a girl in the front row held up a sign:

“Flyers Christmas List: Pierre #21 To Come Back.”

Incidentally, the female student-athlete involved in this situation graduated Saturday and her father posted a photo of her and UD president Dan Curran joyously embracing on the UD Arena stage.

It’s been a tough situation for all involved, but Pierre has had no bigger champion than Miller.

“Dyshawn being back gave everyone a sense of what possibilities could be again,” the coach said of the 6-foot-6, 225-pounds senior forward’s return. “But also that puts the possibility out there where a lot of guys probably are asking themselves ‘How is this gonna impact me?’

“That’s what you deal with in this type situation. But we are a ‘no excuse program.’ We’ve dealt with a lot of heartache and we’ve always moved forward.

“But I’m not sure we’ve ever moved forward with an addition at this time of year and that can impact different people.

“When individuals start wondering how this is gonna move forward, maybe that’s what happening. Maybe our team is thinking about anything other than what we normally do, and maybe that’s why we’re playing the way we are.”

The Flyers are now 9-2 and face SEC foe Arkansas next Wednesday at UD Arena.

Pierre will likely play that game.

“Dyshawn deserves the opportunity because of who he is.” Miller said. “He gives me more confidence. I’ve been around him so many times in big games that I know what he can do.”

About the Author