Dayton’s Smith to miss remainder of 2023-24 season with knee injury

DAYTON — The University of Dayton men’s basketball team will be without one of its key players for the rest of the season.

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Junior guard Malachi Smith will miss the rest of the 2023-24 season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee on Wednesday, the university confirmed Thursday.

Smith was injured early in the Flyers’ win over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Monday.

Typical rehab for this type of procedure is approximately five months.

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Head coach Anthony Grant said the team is “saddened and heartbroken” for Smith.

“He worked extremely hard to recover from off-season (ankle) surgeries to have the opportunity to compete with his teammates this season. Although he, and we, are disappointed, we remain positive and prayerful that he will recover fully and return healthy next season for himself, his teammates, and the Flyer Faithful,” Grant said.

Dayton’s next game will be Friday night when they travel to Evanston, Illinois to play Northwestern at 8:30 p.m.

Pregame coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. on WHIO Radio. The game will also be carried here at WHIO.com.

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