DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – Grad transfer Keonte Jones led all scorers with 17 points as the UD men’s basketball team tipped off its 2025 season with a wire-to-wire 78-62 win over Penn State in the third annual Spotlight Mental Health Charity Exhibition game at UD Arena.
Jones had a game-high 17 points to go along with four rebounds, two assists, and a steal in his unofficial Flyer debut.
“I know it’s just an exhibition game, but I’m ready for the first real game. I heard the floor shakes when they [fans] jump. So, I’m ready for that. But, yeah, it’s a lot of love here. So it was definitely good experience,” said Jones, a Cal State Northridge transfer.
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Sophomore Amaël L’Etang also reached double digits, scoring 10 points and leading the team with seven rebounds on top of a team-leading five assists on the day.
Sophomore Bryce Heard had a strong second half, scoring eight of his 10 points in the second stanza of the game.
UD outscored Penn State 42-30 in the paint and shot 48.4% from the floor compared to 39% for the Nittany Lions. The Flyers forced 14 turnovers, had 14 assists, and swiped nine steals.
“First time we’ve played against outside competition. So we’ll learn from this and see where we are to continue to get better,” said head coach Anthony Grant after the win.
The game, which is sold out, kicks off the third year of community engagement events championing adolescent and young adult mental health and suicide prevention.
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“I’m very appreciative of our community embracing this and understanding, this is something that, you know, for me and my family is, near and dear to us, you know, because of our experiences. But I think it really touches everybody,” added Grant.
The Flyers kicked off the inaugural CareSource Charity Exhibition by hosting Ohio State in 2023, and the mental health initiative has grown since. Last season, Dayton hosted long-time rival Xavier, while Ohio State played at Cincinnati and Kansas traveled to paly Arkansas.
A majority of the proceeds go towards Jay’s Light Foundation, in honor of head coach Anthony Grant’s late daughter Jayda.
Dayton returns to UD Arena, to take on Bowling Green in its second exhibition of the preseason. The Flyers and Falcons play Monday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.
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