DAYTON – The University of Dayton men's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of the Epicenter of College Basketball, UD Arena, for a non-conference battle against UMBC on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
The Flyers (1-0) handily defeated Canisius in its 2025-26 opener, 88-48, while the Terriers took care of Penn State York (United States Collegiate Athletic Association member), 74-53.
UD's 40-point victory over the Golden Griffins in the season opener was its largest margin of victory in the first game of the season since beating Illinois State 109-69 to start the 1990-91 season. Dayton's 88 points was its most in a season opener since scoring 93 against Indiana State to kick off the 2019-20 campaign.
The Flyers and Terriers can be seen on FanDuel Sports Network and is available via ESPN+ stream.
The Flyers (1-0) handily defeated Canisius in its 2025-26 opener, 88-48, while the Terriers took care of Penn State York (United States Collegiate Athletic Association member), 74-53.
UD's 40-point victory over the Golden Griffins in the season opener was its largest margin of victory in the first game of the season since beating Illinois State 109-69 to start the 1990-91 season. Dayton's 88 points was its most in a season opener since scoring 93 against Indiana State to kick off the 2019-20 campaign.
The starting lineup for the Flyers against Canisius was:
Javon Bennett (Sr. - G),
De'Shayne Montgomery (Jr. - G),
Keonte Jones (Sr. - F),
Jacob Conner (Sr. - F), and
Amaël L'Etang (So. - F).
Flyer senior
Javon Bennett opened his senior season with a 20-point game against Canisius, helping him reach the 1,000 career point plateau between his time in Dayton and at Merrimack.
The Orlando, Fla. native scored 327 points during his freshman campaign at Merrimack and has averaged 10.2 points per game since joining the Flyers. Bennett now has 673 career points at UD.
Today's game between Dayton and UMBC is just the second time in program history that the two have played. The last time UD took on the Terriers was in the 1999-2000 season, as the Flyers won 83-60 in front of 11,255 at UD Arena.
UD Athletics Hall of Famer Brooks Hall and frequent color analyst for Dayton, then in his freshman season, put on a show in the second half, knocking down four three-pointers on the way to a 17-point output. Mark Ashman added 19 points, Tony Stanley added 15 and Nate Green had 10.
That win was the fifth consecutive to start the season under sixth-year head coach Oliver Purnell. The Flyers, coming off a 68-66 win over No. 12 Kentucky, went on to win eight straight to start the season and make its first NCAA Tournament appearance in a decade.
Stanley went on to lead that season's team in scoring with 14.7 ppg, while Ashman averaged 13.1 and Hall put up 10.4 points.
