Dayton Flyers dominates second half to beat Cincinnati Bearcats in convincing fashion

CINCINNATI — The Dayton Flyers picked up their biggest victory of the season in dominant fashion, beating the Cincinnati Bearcats 82-68 on Saturday in the Hoops Classic at the Heritage Bank Center.

Explore» PHOTOS: Dayton vs. Cincinnati

Here’s a quick recap of the game:

What it means: Dayton (8-2) won its fifth straight game. This was the first game between UD and UC since 2010.

Judging by the NCAA Evaluation Tool rankings, this is Dayton’s best victory. UC (8-2) ranked 24th. For now, it’s a Quad 1 victory for the Flyers, who added to a NCAA tournament resume that also includes victories against LSU, St. John’s and Southern Methodist.

Dayton jumped from No. 57 to No. 42 in the Ken Pomeroy ratings.

Stars of the game: DaRon Holmes II led Dayton with 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting.

Kobe Elvis scored a career-high 27 points in part by making 14 of 14 free throws. He hit his previous high of 24 points in the previous game against Troy.

Big shot: Dayton led by double figures throughout the second half and stretched its lead to as many as 18 points. Cincinnati got as close as nine points in the final five minutes. Holmes made a dagger of a 3-pointer at the 1:55 mark to put the game away for good, giving Dayton a 14-point lead.

Stat of the game: Dayton made 28 of 30 free throws, while Cincinnati made 8 of 16.

Looking ahead: Dayton plays Oakland (6-5) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at UD Arena. Oakland won 78-76 at Xavier on Nov. 27. It has since beaten Detroit Mercy, lost toPurdue Fort Wayne and Toledo and beaten Eastern Michigan. It plays at Michigan State on Monday.

Dayton beats Cincinnati 82-68. We got a better sense of how many seats UD fans filled at the end when UC fans left to beat traffic with the game decided. pic.twitter.com/Rwa8CzDbd3
— David Jablonski (@DavidPJablonski) December 17, 2023

FIRST-HALF RECAP

Dayton outscored Cincinnati 11-4 in the last five minutes of the first half to build a 35-29 halftime lead.

Here’s a quick recap of the half:

Key player: Holmes scored 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

Key stat: Dayton made 5 of 13 3-pointers, while Cincinnati made 3 of 12. Koby Brea made 3 of 3 for the Flyers.

Turning point: Elvis ended a near four-minute scoring drought with a basket at the 4:20 mark, giving Dayton a 26-25 lead. That started an 8-2 run.

Lineup news: After missing the last game with an illness, Zimi Nwokeji was back on the Dayton bench but did not see any minutes in the first half. Freshman Marvel Allen was in uniform for the first time this season but did not play in the half.