DAYTON – The University of Dayton men's basketball team fell to Northern Illinois 81-76 in overtime at UD Arena on Saturday night.
Trailing by as many as 17 in the first half, the Flyers erased the Huskies' lead in the second stanza to send the game into overtime, but ultimately fell short.
Freshman
Aiden Derkack and sophomore
Landen Joseph led Dayton's scoring efforts with 20 and 19 points, respectively. Junior
Amaël L'Etang also recorded double digits with 16 points on the night.
Derkack is the first freshman since DaRon Holmes II to post back-to-back 20-point games, and with his game-leading 10 rebounds, became the first Flyer true freshman since Chris Wright to have two 20+ point double-doubles in the same season.
Dayton held the advantage over Northern Illinois in shooting overall (.449 to .400), but the Huskies were able to take the game thanks to their shooting from behind the arc. NIU shot .400 (12-of-30) from downtown compared to the Flyers' .118 (2-of-17), including knocking down both attempts in the overtime.
GAME RECAP
First Half – Northern Illinois 40, Dayton 29
- After a 6-0 run by NIU, freshman Aiden Derkack drove to the basket, scoring Dayton's first points to make the score 6-2.
- Junior Amaël L'Etang found an open lane to make a layup from right under the basket, cutting the Huskies' lead to 7-4.
- Off an NIU turnover, Derkack drained a layup to bring the Flyers just four points behind the Huskies at 10-6 with 13:43 to go.
- Junior Malcom Thomas went 2-for-2 at the line to keep the Flyers in the game at 13-8 with 12:21 on the clock.
- Assisted by senior Jaiun Simon, Thomas landed a dunk to make it 17-10 in favor of Northern Illinois.
- L'Etang made a trip to the line, going 1-for-2 for the Flyers to keep it a 10-point game at 22-12 with 8:49 left to play in the half.
- With 7:54 on the clock, graduate Jalen Haynes, making his Flyer debut, posted a 2-for-2 performance at the free-throw line, bringing the score to 27-16.
- Back at the line for the Flyers, sophomore Tristian Ford sank one of two free throws with 7:08 on the clock to make it a 10-point game, 27-17.
- Joseph made a splash after the media timeout with back-to-back three-pointers to bring the Flyers within 11 points with a 35-24 score.
- With 1:08 left in the half, Joseph eased his way into the paint for a layup, advancing the score to 38-27.
- Derkack drove to the paint off a steal for a layup, bringing the game back within 10 points at 39-29 and scoring Dayton's final basket of the first.
Second Half – Dayton 67, Northern Illinois 67
- L'Etang scored the first points of the half with a quick layup under the net, assisted by Ford at 18:16 to make it a single-digit game at 40-31.
- Junior Grant Randall took advantage of a fast break to get the crowd going with a dunk to make it 40-33.
- L'Etang made another appearance at the line with 16:07 on the clock and went 1-for-2 for a score of 40-34.
- Going 1-for-2 at the line, Derkack scored for Dayton, putting pressure on NIU's lead at 40-35.
- Derkack drained a layup in the paint to make it a three-point game, 40-37.
- Ford sank two free throws, putting the Flyers in a position to take the lead, trailing 40-39.
- Haynes put up a second-chance layup in the paint, completing a three-point play at 11:47 to make it a one-point game, 43-42.
- A jumper for Joseph at 10:42 paced the Huskies, 45-44.
- Derkack brought fans to their feet, going 2-for-2 at the charity stripe to take a 46-45 lead, the Flyers' first lead of the night.
- After a 2:20 scoring drought for the Flyers, Joseph went 2-for-2 at the free-throw line to put the score at 54-48.
- Off a second-chance rebound, Randall finished at the rim with a layup and went 1-for-1 at 7:03, keeping the score within three at 54-51.
- Driving through the paint, L'Etang connected with the rim, bringing the Flyers within a point, 56-55 with 5:58 left in the game.
- Joseph fought his way through the NIU defense to bank a layup for a 57-56 lead.
- A foul drawn by Derkack brought him to the line yet again for another 2-for-2 performance, putting the Flyers three points ahead at 59-56, with 5:03 of play left in the second half.
- With Flyer fans on their feet, Randall pushed the lead forward even further, hitting a layup for a 61-56 score.
- With 3:20 left on the clock, Derkack went 1-for-2 at the stripe to maintain the Flyers' lead at 62-61.
- After a three-pointer by NIU put the Flyers behind, L'Etang closed the gap at 64-63, going 1-for-2 at the line with just 1:30 left.
- Joseph brought the energy, banking a layup with less than a minute left on the clock, giving the Flyers the lead 65-64.
- With under 30 seconds in the second half, L'Etang drained two free throws to give the Flyers a 67-64 lead over the Huskies.
- The second half ended with a tie at 67-all to force the game into overtime.
Overtime – Northern Illinois 81, Dayton 76
- L'Etang with an underhand layup in the paint opened up overtime scoring for the Flyers, cutting NIU's lead to one at 70-69 with 4:11 left in the contest.
- Derkack floated in a layup off a turnover, keeping the crowd on their toes as Dayton regained the lead, 71-70.
- The Flyers continued to hold the game within one, trailing NIU 74-73 with a layup by Joseph at 1:59.
- Again at the line, L'Etang went 1-for-2, keeping the Flyers in the mix, down 76-74 with 1:28 left.
- L'Etang made it a 3-point game at 79-76, with a layup in the paint at 0:12, ending the Flyers' scoring for the night.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
40 - Points in the paint for the Flyers, doubling the Huskies' points in the paint
20 - Points for
Aiden Derkack, leading the Flyers in scoring
15 - Points off of Northern Illinois turnovers
12 - Fast break points for the Flyers
10 - Free throws made by Derkack, going 10-for-14 from the line
10 - Rebounds by
Aiden Derkack, leading both teams in rebounding for the night
3 - The Flyers and Huskies were tied three times throughout the game
72.3 - Free-throw percentage for the Flyers
UP NEXT
The Flyers welcome Siena to the Epicenter of College Basketball, UD Arena, on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. Fans can watch on Spectrum News 1 and ESPN+.
