Dayton dominates second half to beat Saint Joseph’s

Here’s a quick recap of the game:

What it means: Dayton (19-3, 9-1) won its third straight game and moved into first place, a half ahead ahead of Richmond (16-6, 8-1), in the Atlantic 10 Conference standings. The Flyers beat the Hawks for the fourth straight time and won at Hagan Arena for the third time in the last five seasons.

Star of the game: Nate Santos and Kobe Elvis each scored 21 points for Dayton.

Key stat: The Flyers 12 of 22 3-pointers (54.5%), including 8 of 12 in the second half.

Turning point: Dayton trailed 41-37 one minute into the second half and outscored Saint Joseph’s 15-0 in the next five minutes and 24-3 over the next eight minutes.

Looking ahead: Dayton will fly to Richmond, Va., after the game Tuesday and stay in Richmond until play Virginia Commonwealth at 7 p.m. Friday at the Siegel Center. VCU (15-8, 7-3) won 75-60 at Fordham on Tuesday.

Dayton and VCU played three times last season. VCU won 63-62 at UD Arena in January. Dayton won 62-58 at VCU in February. VCU beat Dayton 68-56 in the A-10 championship game in March.

Dayton has beaten VCU in its last two trips to the Siegel Center, and VCU is 3-0 in its last three games against the Flyers at UD Arena. VCU has won its last three A-10 home games after opening conference play with losses to St. Bonaventure and George Washington.

FIRST-HALF RECAP

Dayton erased an early 11-point deficit but faced a 38-34 halftime deficit against Saint Joseph’s.

Here’s a quick recap of the first half:

Key player: Saint Joseph’s guard Cameron Brown led all scorers with 13 points. He made 5 of 6 field goals, including 3 of 4 3-pointers.

Dayton’s star: Elvis scored Dayton’s first five points and had 11 points in the half on 4-of-7 shooting.

Key stat: Saint Joseph’s made 7 of 19 3-pointers (36.8%). Dayton made 4 of 10.

Big run: Dayton trailed 23-12 with 10 minutes left in the half. A layup by Javon Bennett started a 12-0 run in the next four minutes. The Flyers took a 24-23 lead on a 3-point play by Kobe Elvis with 6:25 to play.

Turning point: Saint Joseph’s answered with a 7-0 run and led the rest of the half.