The Cincinnati Bearcats (12-2) beat Brigham Young 71-60 on the road in a game that ended at 12:09 a.m. Sunday in Ohio. That result provided a boost for UD in the NCAA Evaluation Tool, which is updated every morning on the NCAA website.
The Flyers, who beat Cincinnati 82-68 on Dec. 16, climbed from No. 22 to No. 19, their highest ranking since the 2019-20 season when they were No. 2 four days before a Selection Sunday that never came because of the pandemic.
A 64-60 victory against Massachusetts (10-4, 1-1) at UD Arena likely will cause Dayton (12-2, 2-0) to fall in the NET on Monday, but Dayton isn’t going to win every game by double digits and winning is the most important thing at this point. The Flyers continue to do that, even when they’re not at their best — and they were far from their best in the second half Sunday, at least on offense.
“Our team is capable of everything, so we’re just going to take things one game at a time and lock in,” forward DaRon Holmes II said. “We’re going to enjoy the win tonight, but we’ve got a very tough opponent coming up next. We can’t take anybody for granted.”
Here are three takeaways from Dayton’s first Atlantic 10 Conference home game of the season:
1. Zimi Nwokeji provided important offense off the bench: The only player remaining from the 2019-20 roster, Nwokeji has seen his playing time come and go over the last three seasons. He lost his spot in the rotation to freshman Petras Padegimas in December but regained it in the last two games, which Padegimas missed with an illness.
When Kobe Elvis suffered lower-body injury in the first half Wednesday, Dayton had seven scholarship players available. That led to Nwokeji playing 14 minutes. He made the most of them by scoring nine points. He made back-to-back 3-pointers in the first half as Dayton built a 38-29 halftime lead.
Nwokeji also had a three-point play in the second half to give Dayton a 53-40 lead with 9:48 to play.
“It means a lot to me to impact the game and to impact winning,” Nwokeji said.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
2. The offense hit a wall in the second half: After Nwokeji’s 3-point play, Dayton didn’t record another basket for five minutes with only two free throws by Nate Santos in between the field goals. The Flyers missed three straight shots and turned the ball over twice as UMass chipped away at the lead.
Dayton took a 57-47 lead on a layup by Holmes at the 4:55 mark, but the slump continued with seven straight misses to end the game. Dayton scored seven points in the last three minutes at the free-throw line to hold off UMass, which got as close as two points and twice had the ball with a chance to tie the game or take the lead.
Dayton struggled to find shot against the zone and often had to force shots at the end of the shot clock.
“That’s something we were struggling to figure out during the course of the game,” Holmes said, “but after we see it on film, we’ll have a better understanding of what we need to do next time.”
3. The defense performed well for the second straight game: UMass shot a season-worst 3 of 22 (13.6%) from 3-point range. Rahsool Diggins missed all 10 of his attempts.
In its previous game Wednesday, Dayton held Davidson to its second-lowest points total of the season. The Flyers had a season-high 12 steals in a 72-59 victory.
The Minutemen, picked to finish 13th out of 15 teams in the A-10 preseason poll, saw a four-game winning streak end but proved they’ll be one of the most improved teams in the conference.
“I’m never very happy after a loss,” second-year UMass coach Frank Martin said, “but I told my team this is my 40th year on the sideline, and I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder of the way I am right now after a loss.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
STAR OF THE GAME
Forward DaRon Holmes II led Dayton with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting. He also had six rebounds and four assists. He scored 14 of his points in the first half as he made 3 of his first four 3-point attempts. He now has 1,321 points in his career. He ranks 28th in school history, two behind Chip Hare.
STAT OF THE GAME
UMass turned 20 offensive rebounds into 18-second chance points. It ranks 24th in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage (36.5), while Dayton ranks 302nd in opponents’ offensive rebounding percentage (33.1).
LOOKING AHEAD
Dayton plays Duquesne (9-5) at 7 p.m. Friday at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh. Duquesne announced last week it has sold out the game.
Duquesne was picked to finish fourth in the A-10 preseason poll. It opened A-10 play with two road losses: 80-61 at UMass on Wednesday; and 72-67 at Loyola Chicago. Its next game is against Dayton.
Dayton beat Duquesne 69-57 at UD Arena in its A-10 opener last season. Dayton beat Duquesne 72-52 in the last matchup at the Cooper Fieldhouse in 2022. The Flyers have won nine of the last 10 games in the series and are 9-2 against Duquesne in Anthony Grant’s tenure.
FRIDAY’S GAME
Dayton at Duquesne, 7 p.m., ESPN2, 1290, 95.7
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