Dayton beats Ball State for first 3-0 start in five years

Here’s a quick recap of the game:

What it means: Dayton (3-0) won its 19th straight game at UD Arena. It is 3-0 for the first time since the 2019-20 season when it started 5-0. This is the third time in coach Anthony Grant’s eight seasons the team has started 3-0. It started 4-0 in the 2018-19 season.

Dayton extended its winning streak against Mid-American Conference teams to 15 games. Ball State, playing Dayton for the first time since the 2017-18 opener, fell to 1-2. Dayton is 6-0 against Ball State in the modern era

Stars of the game: Enoch Cheeks led Dayton with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting.

Jermahri Hill scored 25 points on 7-of-16 shooting for Ball State.

Stat of the game: Each team made 21 free throws. Ball State made 21 of 24. Dayton made 21 of 29.

Comeback: Ball State trailed as many as 20 points in the first half and then cut the deficit to 53-48 with 10:44 to play in the second half. Dayton answered with back-to-back layups by Posh Alexander and Isaac Jack.

The Flyers pushed the lead to 17 points twice more in the final seven minutes. Ball State cut into the lead with three 3-pointers in the final three minutes. The Cardinals made 7 of 11 3s in the second half after making 1 of 7 in the first half.

Looking ahead: Dayton plays Division III Capital University at 7 p.m. Saturday at UD Arena. Capital improved to 2-0 with a 73-58 victory at Kenyon on Wednesday.

HALFTIME RECAP

Dayton opened the game with a 21-4 run, led by as many as 20 points in the first half and owned a 41-26 halftime lead.

Here’s a quick recap of the first half:

Key players: Cheeks and Zed Key each scored 12 points in the half for Dayton. They combined to make 9 of 13 field goals.

Key stat: Dayton outscored Ball State 22-6 in the paint.

Big run: Key dunked on Dayton’s first two possessions and scored six points in a 10-0 run to start the game. Ball State ended the run with a free throw at the 16:02 mark.

Slow start: Ball State scored its first seven points at the free-throw line. The Cardinals missed their first 12 field-goal attempts. It did not get a field goal until Dayton was called for goaltending at the 8:01 mark.

Poor outside shooting: Dayton made 1 of 10 3-pointers. Ball State made 1 of 7.

Lineup news: Jack played for the first time this season after missing the first two games with a lower-body injury. He had two points in 4 minutes, 48 seconds of action in the first half.

Jaiun Simon was also back in uniform after missing the Northwestern game with an illness.