Dayton Flyers dominate Drake in second half to improve to 8-1

Watson scores career-high 20 points

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Ibi Watson led a dominant second-half performance by the Dayton Flyers, scoring 11 points in a three-minute span in a 78-47 victory against Drake on Saturday at UD Arena.

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Watson scored 14 of his career-high 20 points in the second half. He made 6 of 8 shots from the field and 4 of 6 3-pointers.

The No. 14 Flyers won their third straight game, improving to 8-1. They play North Texas at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

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Obi Toppin scored 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. Trey Landers had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Rodney Chatman had 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Dayton led 41-31 five minutes into the second half and then put the game away with a 13-0 run in the next five minutes.

Drake (8-3) suffered its third loss to an Ohio team. It previously fell 81-59 to Cincinnati and 67-59 to Miami.

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

HALFTIME RECAP

The Flyers outscored Drake 16-4 in the last seven minutes of the first half, building a 34-22 halftime lead.

Playing their first game since beating Saint Mary’s 78-68 on Sunday and since exams ended, Dayton got off to a slow start on the offensive end but played strong defense in the opening minutes and built a 13-5 lead. The Bulldogs responded with an 11-0 run in a three-minute stretch, taking a 16-13 lead.

The game was tied at 18-18 when Ryan Mikesell scored on a layup after a spin move in the paint. Five straight points by Watson pushed the lead to 30-21. A rebound and second-chance basket by Trey Landers with 41 seconds left ended the scoring in the half.

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oppin led Dayton with eight points and six rebounds in the half. Watson scored seven. Chatman and Landers each had six.

After making 10 of 15 3-pointers in the first half Sunday against Saint Mary’s, Dayton made 4 of 15 in this half. They shot 44.4 percent from the field. Drake shot 29.6 percent from the field and 25 percent (3 of 12) from 3-point range.

NOTES: Dayton forward Chase Johnson was sick and was not at the game. He's the first Dayton player, other than Jordy Tshimanga, who missed the first three games with a knee injury, to miss time with an injury or illness.

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