DAYTON – The University of Dayton men's basketball team returns to the Epicenter of College Basketball, UD Arena to take on Northern Illinois at 7 p.m. on Saturday night.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with
Alex Mikos and UD Hall of Famer Brian Roberts on the call. It will also be available on WHIO Radio with Larry Hansgen and
Josh Postorino.
Dayton (1-0, 0-0 A10) finished the exhibition campaign with a 2-1 record, sprinting past Morehead State in the preseason finale, 88-56. The Flyers showcased their depth in their exhibitions, with no player averaging more than 22 minutes per game, with newcomer
Zaide Lowery playing a team-high 22.0 minutes per contest.
The Huskies (0-2, 0-0 Horizon) dropped their second game of the season on Thursday night when they traveled to Oklahoma and fell to Tulsa, 94-75. David Douglas Jr. leads the Huskies in both points (16.5) and rebounds (4.0) per game through two games. Max Weisbrod has 16 assists and just one turnover through two games.
LAST TIME OUT
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.
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.
L'Etang posted a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, the 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).
DIAPER DANDY'S DYNAMITE DEBUT
Freshman
Aiden Derkack's debut was one for the history books, becoming just the second Flyer in program history to register a 20+ point double-double in his first collegiate game. Dayton Athletics Hall of Famer Chris Wright had a 22-point, 13-rebound showing in the first game of his illustrious Flyer career.
Derkack's performance was one of five 20+ point double-doubles by a freshmen to kick off the 2026-27 season. He was joined by Kaan Onat (21 pts, 13 reb) and Sasha Savkov (20 pts, 10 reb) of UT Martin, Tim Ibukunoluwa (20 pts, 14 reb) of Siena and Willie Foster (24 pts, 10 reb) of Northern Kentucky.
There have only been 22 instances of 20+ point double-doubles in collegiate debuts over the last decade, with familiar names such as Cade Cunningham (2021 No. 1 pick), Cole Anthony (2021 No. 15 pick), James Wiseman (2020 No. 2 pick), and Marvin Bagley III (2018 No. 2 pick) on the list.
LOCK DOWN LOWERY
Senior
Zaide Lowery, in his first game in a Dayton uniform, took on the task of guarding NJIT's David Bolden in the opener. Bolden, who was the America East Rookie of the Year in 2025-26, led the Highlanders in scoring average a season ago.
Not only did Lowery tie a career-high three steals in the Flyers' 89-58 victory, he held Bolden 0-for-6 from the floor in 20 minutes of action. In total, Bolden finished the night with four turnovers.
Lowery wasn't just a lockdown defender either. The transfer added eight points and three assists as well.
L'Etang, who is the tallest men's basketball player in UD history, has played in 67 games in his Flyer career, making 49 starts. While still in the distance, the 1,000 point and 500 rebound clubs are both visible, as L'Etang needs 365 points and 157 rebounds to get there. He would become the 16th Dayton men's basketball player to be in both the 1,000 point and 500 rebound club.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE
Not only did freshman
Aiden Derkack have a double-double in his collegiate debut, but junior
Amaël L'Etang registered the ninth of his career with a 20-point, 11-rebound performance.
It was the first time since at least 2005 that two Flyers had 20+ point double-double performances in the same game, and the first time since Nov. 13, 2024 that Dayton had two players register double-doubles in the same game, as Enoch Cheeks (23 pts, 12 reb) and Malachi Smith (13 pts, 10 ast) did so against Ball State.
Derkack and L'Etang both bringing down 10+ rebounds was also a first since DaRon Holmes II and Enoch Cheeks both did so in a March 5, 2024 win over Saint Louis.
OTHER FIRST COLLEGIATE APPEARANCES
Two other Flyers made their collegiate debuts against the Highlanders, as freshmen
Cody Peck and
Julian Washington both saw action in the final two minutes of play on Monday night.
Peck didn't register a stat, but Washington took the opportunity to rip an open three from the corner and connected for his first collegiate points.
