Rhode Island officials urged everyone still left in the build to exit to the parking lot. The Flyers were still in the locker room when the alarm stopped — there never was any sign of fire or smoke — so few of the players had to flee. One who did leave the building, Enoch Cheeks, walked around to the front of the Ryan Center to greet his fan club.
Cheeks is a Rhode Island native from Providence. He had never played a college game in his home state. His family, including his sister, and friends behind the bench cheered hard every time he scored. He tied Malachi Smith for the team lead with 15 points.
“Not a lot of college players get to play back in their home state,” Cheeks said. “I’m just forever grateful for the opportunity, and it was just awesome to get the win.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Here are three takeaways from Dayton’s 28th game:
1. The Flyers won the game with a dominant stretch early in the second half: Rhode Island got off to a strong start, taking a 25-15 lead in the first half.
Dayton took control with a 12-0 run. The Rams missed nine straight field goals before stopping the run with a free throw by David Green with 4 minutes, 10 seconds left in the first half. A layup by Green at the 3:08 mark was Rhode Island’s first field goal in eight minutes.
The Flyers led 33-30 at halftime and still had a three-point advantage three minutes into the second half. They then scored eight straight points to take a 45-34 lead.
Javon Bennett scored the last five points in the run, making a 3-pointer and then coming up with a steal and a layup after the in-bounds pass.
Dayton stretched its lead to as many as 20 points, taking a 62-42 lead on a 3-point play by Cheeks at the 11:18 mark.
“I think starting off the game, our defense kind of wasn’t there,” Dayton forward Nate Santos said. “We were kind of slow. Locking on the defense allowed us to go on a run.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
2. The big lead gave Dayton a needed cushion during Rhode Island’s comeback: Rhode Island cut the deficit to six points with a 20-6 run. A four-point possession helped the Rams during that stretch. Zed Key committed a foul and then was called for a technical foul. Rhode Island made four straight free throws.
Two 3-pointers by Santos in 67 seconds helped Dayton maintain its lead, just as the Rams were making the Flyers feel nervous.
“In the second, they made a run, and the game kind of shifted,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “Technical fouls and those kind of things, to me it’s maturity.”
Turnovers played a part in Dayton’s victory. Rhode Island had 19 turnovers to Dayton’s 15, and Dayton outscored Rhode Island 26-13 in points off turnovers.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
3. The victory keeps Dayton (19-9, 9-6) in the hunt for a top-four seed: Dayton stayed in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Atlantic 10 Conference with Saint Joseph’s (18-10, 9-6) and Saint Louis (16-12, 9-6). Three games remain in the regular season.
The Flyers improved to 2-1 in the last three seasons against former UD coach Archie Miller, who’s in his third season at Rhode Island. The Rams (17-10, 6-9) are tied for 10th place.
“They made a lot of winning plays,” Miller said of Dayton. “We turned it over too much. We couldn’t make a shot. That’s a disaster in terms of those two statistical things. We fought hard to kind of hang around and claw back, but we just weren’t good enough tonight.”
STAR OF THE GAME
Cheeks made 4 of 9 field goals and 6 of 7 free throws and tied Malachi Smith for the team lead with 15 points. He also had a team-high eight rebounds.
STAT OF THE GAME
Dayton shot 37% from 3-point range (10 of 27). Rhode Island shot a season-worst 10.5% (2 of 19). The Rams missed 15 3s in a row at one point.
LOOKING AHEAD
Dayton plays Richmond (10-19, 5-11) at 2 p.m. Saturday at UD Arena. It’s the second-to-last home game for the Flyers, but they will celebrate Senior Day because it’s a weekend game.
Six players will be honored: Brady Uhl, Cheeks, Zed Key and Posh Alexander, who are all fifth-year players; Santos, who’s a senior; and Smith, a redshirt junior who will graduate in the spring. Smith is the only player in the group who has a season of eligibility remaining.
SATURDAY’S GAME
Dayton at Richmond, 2 p.m., CBS Sports Network, 1290, 95.7
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