“We practiced,” guard Posh Alexander said. “We hung out as a team a lot, building bonds, getting to know each other even more. That’s what the team is about.”
The extended trip began Monday with a flight from Dayton to Buffalo. It included a 75-53 loss at St. Bonaventure on Tuesday and then a flight from Buffalo to St. Louis on Wednesday. The Flyers practiced at a community college across the Mississippi River in Illinois on Wednesday.
The journey ended with a 71-63 victory against Saint Louis on Friday in front a sellout, white-out crowd of 9,819 at Chaifetz Arena. The Flyers (15-7, 5-4) flew home after the game with still slim hopes of winning the Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season championship but improving odds of grabbing a top-four seed in the A-10 tournament.
“I thought our defense set the tone for us when you look at the stat sheet,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “We forced 19 turnovers. We had 13 steals. We were able to get more shots on goal than them (58-49). When we get stops and get out in transition, it opens things up for us. At times, the game slowed down, which kind of helped them a little bit. They’re obviously a really good team. They’ve got really good players. They made a run. For our guys to weather the storm on the road like that, I’m really proud of the effort all the way through.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Here are three takeaways from Dayton’s 22nd game:
1. Dayton got off to a great start: Unlike Tuesday when Dayton fell behind by 13 points against St. Bonaventure at the Reilly Center, the Flyers were the ones who were able to build the early lead in this game. They led by as many as 17 points in the first half and owned a 37-25 halftime lead.
Dayton shot 53.8% (7 of 13) in the first half, while Saint Louis shot 25% (3 of 12).
“We focused on trying to start off the game as fast as possible, as good as possible, trying not to put ourselves in the hole,” Dayton guard Javon Bennett said.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
2. Dayton held off Saint Louis despite a big run by the Billikens in the second half: Dayton led by as many as 14 points early in the second half. Saint Louis ran off 12 straight points to get back into the game and later cut the deficit to 54-52 with 7 minutes, 2 seconds to play.
The Billikens turned their shooting around in the second half, making 7 of 14 3-pointers. Gibson Jimerson and Isaiah Swope each made 3 of 8 3-pointers and combined for 36 points.
The Flyers answered the Saint Louis run with a Bennett layup and a Nate Santos 3-pointer to push the lead back to seven points. Saint Louis got no closer than four points the rest of the way. Dayton sealed the victory by making 9 of 11 free throws in the final two minutes.
Bennett led Dayton with a season-high 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting. He made 4 of 8 3-pointers.
“I was just being aggressive,” Bennett said. “I was taking what the defense gave me. The guys trusted me, and the coaches trusted me. So I just took advantage of what I saw.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
3. The Flyers continue to dominate the series with Saint Louis: The Billikens couldn’t build on a 78-69 victory at home against Virginia Commonwealth on Tuesday and lost their third straight game to the Flyers. Dayton has won 18 of the last 22 games in the series.
Dayton spoiled the night for the biggest crowd of the season at Chaifetz. The game attracted 3,000 more fans than Saint Louis had Tuesday against VCU.
Dayton moved into fourth place by itself in the Atlantic 10 Conference. It has a half-game lead over four teams that are 4-4: Saint Joseph’s; George Washington; Duquesne; and Massachusetts.
Saint Louis (13-9, 6-3) fell out of a tie for second place with Virginia Commonwealth (16-5, 6-2) and sits alone in third place halfway through the league schedule.
“Credit to Dayton,” first-year Saint Louis coach Josh Schertz said. “They were the better team, the aggressor. They outplayed us for the vast majority of the game and deserved to win. We didn’t have our fastball on either end tonight. I didn’t think we were particularly good defensively, particularly in the first 12 to 13 minutes and thought we got a little better there. We were equally as bad or worse offensively. A lot of the game, our offense was their best offense, just in the points in transition off turnovers.”
STAR OF THE GAME
Dayton’s Javon Bennett not only led the Flyers with 19 points but scored timely baskets. He had seven points in the first six minutes of the second half to help Dayton maintain some of the momentum it had at halftime. Later in the second half after Saint Louis cut Dayton’s lead to 54-52 on a layup by Gibson Jimerson, Bennett made a layup on Dayton’s next possession to push the lead 56-52 with 6 minutes, 35 seconds to play.
STAT OF THE GAME
Dayton outscored Saint Louis 23-7 in points scored off turnovers. The Billikens matched their season high with 19 turnovers. Dayton had 12 turnovers. The Flyers recorded a season-high 13 steals.
LOOKING AHEAD
Dayton plays Davidson (13-7, 3-4) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at UD Arena. Dayton has won nine straight games in the series. Davidson ended a three-game losing streak with a 72-66 victory at Richmond (7-14, 2-6) on Wednesday. It plays at home against first-place George Mason (16-5, 7-1) on Saturday.
TUESDAY’S GAME
Davidson at Dayton, 7 p.m., Spectrum News 1, ESPN+, 1290, 95.7
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