University of Dayton Athletics

DAYTON – Freshman Aiden Derkack and junior Amaël L'Etang both recorded double-doubles to lead the University of Dayton men's basketball team to an 89-59 win over NJIT in the 2026-27 season opener at UD Arena on Monday night.
 
Freshman Aiden Derkack tallied 21 points and 11 rebounds, becoming the first true freshman to earn a double-double in his Flyer debut since UD Hall of Famer Chris Wright achieved the feat in 2007. With a 21-point night, Derkack tied for fourth-most points in a debut for a true freshman.
 
Junior Amaël L'Etang posted a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, good for ninth in his career. This was Dayton's first season-opener since 2018 with two players recording double-doubles.
 
Sophomore Tristian Ford, also making his collegiate debut, scored 13 points and had four assists with no turnovers. 
 
UD boasted significant advantages over NJIT in nearly all statistical categories, including overall shooting (.477 to .345), three-point shooting (.346 to .120), rebounding (50 to 28), points in the paint (44 to 24), and assists (19 to 9).

GAME RECAP
First Half – Dayton 47, NJIT 23  

• Junior Amaël L'Etang opened up the scoring with four straight free throws to put the Flyers up 4-0 at the 18:33 mark.
• Freshman Aiden Derkack continued the free throw run at the 18:08 mark, putting the Flyers up 6-0.
• Assisted by Derkack, L'Etang brought the crowd to their feet with a slam dunk, advancing the score to 8-0 at the 17:47 mark.
• Senior Jaiun Simon ended the Highlanders' 7-0 run with a left hook to bring the score to 12-9 with 13:43 left in the half.
• Sophomore Damon Friery connected from deep to make it 15-10.
• Junior Malcolm Thomas blocked an NJIT layup and found Friery in transition for the quick layup at the 11:12 mark, giving Dayton a 17-10 lead at the second media timeout.
• L'Etang came back quickly after the media timeout with a layup, advancing the Dayton lead to 19-10. 
• Sophomore Landen "Dunk" Joseph connected on a step-back three, pushing the lead to 12 with 9:23 left. 
• Sophomore Tristian Ford finished at the rim off the drive to make it 24-10 at the 8:14 mark in the half. 
• Junior Grant Randall drew the score further with a fast-break alley-oop, making it a 26-12 game.
• L'Etang tipped in a Flyer miss after a defensive stop to extend the lead to 14 going into the media timeout at the 6:16 mark.
• Ford drilled a three-pointer off a second-chance rebound, giving Dayton a 33-14 lead.
• Derkack finished a tough basket in transition to make it a 35-14 game with 5:02 left in the half. 
• Ford hit a step-back three, giving the Flyers a 23-point lead. 
• With 2:45 to go in the half, Derkack sank a side-step three to put the score at 41-20.
• Senior Zaide Lowery fought through 2 defenders in the paint to score a layup, making the score 43-20 with 2 minutes left in the half.
• Joseph eased his way into the paint for a driving layup, advancing the Flyers' lead to 45-21. 
• Derkack sank two free throws to join L'Etang and Ford in double-digit scoring for the first half.

 
Second Half – Dayton 89, NJIT 58

• Starting off the second half quickly at 19:41, L'Etang finished in the paint, advancing the score to 49-23. 
• Off the fast-break steal, Lowery slammed it home for the 51-25 Flyer lead. 
• L'Etang eased his way into the paint with a layup to open UD's lead to 53-26 with 17:45 left in the half.
• Randall took advantage of a fast break, sinking a layup to make it 55-28 with 17:30 left to play.
• Off a Ford steal, Derkack made his way into the paint for a layup, widening the lead to 59-30 with 14:48 to go. 
• Landing another layup with 13:48 left to play, Derkack brought the score to 61-33.
• Simon drained a turnaround two, making it 63-33 at the 12:58 mark in the second half.
• With 11:34 left in the half, Ford drilled his third three of the game coming out of the media timeout to raise the score to 66-38.
• Junior Travis Perry buried a three from the corner to make it a 69-41 game.
• L'Etang fought his way through opponents to score a layup with 6:22 left in the half,  bringing the Flyers up 71-43.
• L'Etang found Randall for a quick two points, making it a 73-45 game.
• Derkack connected on a three from the top of the key with 4:04 left in the game, advancing the Dayton lead to 77-50.
• Off a second-chance rebound, Derkack finished at the rim and tacked on a free throw,  completing the three-point play and raising the score to 80-52 with 3:09 left to play. 
• Ford found Lowery for two off a fast break to go up by 30 with 2:52 left to go.
• Lowery slammed it home with an assist from Randall to make it an 85-56 game with 1:51 left in regulation.
• Freshman Julian Washington brought in his first points with a three from the corner to make it an 89-56 game to end the night.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
21 - Points for Aiden Derkack in his Dayton debut
2 - Flyers recorded a double-double, as Derkack and L'Etang each pulled down 11 boards, scoring 21 and 20, respectively
4 - Assists by Tristian Ford to lead UD, to go along with a team-high three made three-pointers
3 - Steals for senior newcomer Zaide Lowery
14 - Marked the longest Dayton run of the game
50 - Team rebounds for the Flyers, compared to only 28 for the Highlanders
10 - Flyers recorded a basket in the game
3 - Newcomers saw action in their first career regular-season game
19 - Assists on 31 made field goals for the Flyers
24 - Highest plus/minus for Zaide Lowery, the best mark on the night for the Flyers
 
UP NEXT
The Flyers continue their homestand at the Epicenter of College Basketball, UD Arena, on Saturday, Nov. 17, as they welcome Northern Illinois as non-conference play continues. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and fans can tune in on ESPN+.
 

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