Dayton coach Anthony Grant said Monday night that the Flyers would be without starting guards Malachi Smith and Kobe Elvis “for the foreseeable future” due to injuries.
Both players were hurt Friday during the seventh-place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in Nassau, Bahamas — a 79-75 overtime loss against BYU.
Elvis went down while attempting to drive to the basket and clutched his right knee. Smith twisted an ankle and had to be carried to the locker room by teammates, per the Dayton Daily News.
“Both guys are out for the foreseeable future,” Grant told WHIO Radio. “I don’t know anything in terms of the amount of time or anything yet. As of right now, they’re both on crutches and unavailable at this time. Moving forward, we’ve got to plan to be without them.”
Grant added that he hoped he’d know more about the players’ statuses in the coming days.
The Flyers (3-4) started the season ranked No. 24 in the Associated Press preseason poll, but they lost three consecutive games at the Battle 4 Atlantis to Wisconsin, NC State and BYU.
Elvis is the team’s second-leading scorer at 10.1 points per game, along with 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists. Smith has been similarly versatile, averaging 5.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.0 steals over four contests.
In better news for Dayton, Grant said guard Koby Brea should be available for Dayton’s next game Wednesday against Western Michigan. Brea has played just one game this season and missed the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament with an illness.
–Field Level Media