Dayton Flyers rout Saint Joseph’s Pumas for fourth straight win

Those three plays defined a lackluster first half but not the entire 40 minutes. Dayton gathered itself in the second half — even making a couple of dunks — to rout the Pumas 91-59. It was UD’s first game against a Division II team since 2005.

“That was a little frustrating,” senior guard Scoochie Smith said. “I think that’s why we continued to missed more dunks. Everyone started to think about it. It’s second nature for us, and in the second half, we were better.”

Dayton (6-2) shot 60.6 percent from the field in the second half and pushed a nine-point halftime lead to double digits for good two minutes into the second half.

The second-half performance erased some of the memories of the first half. Miller called a time 89 seconds into the game and replaced four of his starters — everyone but Charles Cooke.

“You don’t start the game and give up three straight baskets in 30 seconds,” Miller said. “That’s unacceptable. They didn’t need to be in. From that point forward, the game was going to feel a little bit funny. Leadership. Toughness. Approach. Seriousness about what’s going on. We can’t have one day good, one day bad. We’ve got to start being consistent with that.”

Dayton pulled ahead for good with 8:16 left in the first half. Defense played a big part in the outcome.

Dayton set a school record with 11 blocks against the smaller Pumas, breaking the previous record of nine, which had been done six times. Sophomore forward Xeyrius Williams, who made his first career start in place of Sam Miller, who was sick, blocked five shots. He fell one short of tying the single-game record.

The Flyers are averaging 4.1 blocks per game. They averaged 2.8 blocks per game last season with Steve McElvene setting a school record with 55 blocks.

“I don’t know if we’ll be a great shot-blocking team,” Miller said. “I do think Charles and Xeyrius and Kendall are capable of making some hard plays above the rim.”

Kyle Davis and Cooke led the Flyers with 18 points each. Davis made 8 of 9 shots from the field and added four steals, three rebounds and two assists.

Pollard scored 14, and Smith had 13. The Flyers have won four games in a row since losing two straight to Saint Mary’s and Nebraska.

“I think we’re making progress,” Smith said. “I think right now we just have to focus in on the first half. We’re getting off to slow starts. Our first half is nowhere near as good as our second half.”