Here’s a quick recap of the game:
What it means: Dayton (18-9, 8-6) fell out of a tie for third place in the Atlantic 10 Conference with Loyola (18-9, 9-5) with four games to play.
The Flyers and Ramblers split the season series. Dayton is 3-2 against Loyola in the last three seasons and has lost two straight games at Gentile Arena.
Stars of the game: Nate Santos led Dayton with 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting. He made 7 of 9 free throws.
Desmond Watson scored 22 points for Loyola, making 8 of 14 field goals.
Stat of the game: Loyola shot 50% (27 of 54). Dayton shot 38.7% (24 of 62).
Big run: Loyola led 38-36 early in the second half and outscored Dayton 12-2 over the next four minutes. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Watson and Jayden Dawson gave Loyola a 50-38 lead with 14:18 to play.
Biggest lead: Loyola led 56-43 after a basket by Jalen DeLoach with 10:54 to play.
Comeback: Dayton trimmed a 61-52 deficit to 61-59 with a 7-0 run. Three times it got as close as two points.
The Flyers had had a chance to tie the game on a jump shot by Javon Bennett, who missed with 2:37 to play. A 3-pointer by Sheldon Edwards with 2:29 to play gave Loyola a 68-63 lead. It made eight free throws down the stretch to stay on top.
Looking ahead: Dayton plays Rhode Island (17-8, 6-7) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Ryan Center in Kingston, R.I. Rhode Island plays at Saint Louis (14-12, 7-6) on Saturday.
HALFTIME RECAP
Loyola Chicago shot 51.6% from the field in the first half to build a 34-31 halftime lead.
Here’s a quick recap of the first half:
Key players: Enoch Cheeks led Dayton with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
Miles Rubin scored nine points on 4-of-6 shooting for Loyola.
Key stat: Loyola made 1 of 5 3-pointers and 15 of 26 2-point shots. Dayton made 3 of 8 3s and 9 of 16 2-pointers.
Big run: Dayton trailed 15-10 when it started a 9-0 run, taking a 19-10 lead at the 7:53 mark on a dunk by Amael L’Etang.
Big shot: L’Etang made a 3-pointer on Dayton’s final possession, answering a 3 by Loyola’s Jayden Dawson.
Rotation news: Isaac Jack did not travel to Chicago with the Flyers. He had his appendix removed and will be sidelined for an indefinite period. He is expected to return at some point this season.
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