Archie Miller: Dayton Flyers cap off good week by beating Billikens

Scoochie Smith led the Flyers with 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Charles Cooke scored 15 points, grabbed nine rebounds and recorded a career-high six assists. Kendall Pollard had nine points, five rebounds and three blocks.

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Dayton (15-4, 6-1) shot 42.6 percent from the field. It improved to 14-0 when it tops 40 percent. It also made 17 of 21 free throws. In the last two games, it has made 38 of 47 (80.1 percent).

“We capped off a good week for us,” Miller said. “Every home game is very important in this conference. Today was another step in trying to make sure we’re taking care of business at home.”

Both teams lived up their stats. The Atlantic 10’s best defense surrendered its fewest points this season. The league’s worst offense topped its season low in scoring by one point. Saint Louis has scored fewer than 50 points in its last five games against Dayton.

The Flyers entered the game with the eighth-best defense in the country in defensive efficiency despite having only one player taller than 6-foot-7.

“We’re not that big,” Cooke said. “We’re a small team. We’ve got to be able to scrap. You’ve got to get back there and help your team. You definitely want to rely on one-on-one defense, but if you get beat, your teammate will help you.”

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The Flyers had seven blocks and six steals. They held Saint Louis to 30 percent shooting from the field (15 of 50) and 15.8 percent shooting (3 of 19) from 3-point range. In winning its last three games, Dayton has held Duquense, Richmond and Saint Louis to 8-of-60 shooting from 3-point range (13.3 percent).

Those three victories have propelled Dayton (15-4, 6-1) into first place in the Atlantic 10. Two other results Sunday mean they sit there all alone with 11 games to play.

George Mason (13-6, 3-3) bounced back from a 63-56 loss to Saint Louis by winning 82-77 at Richmond (11-8, 5-2). The Spiders, who lost 75-59 at Dayton on Thursday, have lost two straight games since a 5-0 start.

Virginia Commonwealth (15-5, 5-2) put its stunning 69-67 overtime loss at Fordham (9-11, 3-4) on Wednesday behind it, crushing visiting La Salle 90-52. The Explorers (11-5, 5-2) had won five straight games since losing their A-10 opener at Dayton, 66-55 on Dec. 30.

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Dayton will go from playing the worst team in the league to playing one of the favorites, VCU, at 9 p.m. Friday in Richmond, Va.

“They’ve got a lot of guys we’ve banged heads against the last couple years,” Miller said. “We’re playing in their place, which is as charged up as any. We’re going to have to be ready to go mentally and physically.”

Dayton got off to a slow start against Saint Louis (5-14, 1-6). The Billikens made 4 of 6 shots from the field in the first 3:03, building a 10-4 lead.

“We weren’t as dialed in at the start of the game,” Miller said. “I thought we got better as the half wore on.”

In the next 12 minutes, Dayton outscored Saint Louis 23-2. In a 10-minute span, the Billikens missed 10 straight shots and committed six turnovers.

The rout was on, and it could have been worse. After pushing the lead to 56-28 midway through the second half, Dayton scored three points in the next eight minutes.

“We had a stretch in the first half defensively that gave us a cushion,” Miller said, “and we had a stretch in the second offensively that was really disappointing to see in terms of the smoothness and what we’re trying to do. But we’ll take it. Guys are playing hard and preparing the right way.”