Dayton escapes upset at UD Arena, wins 10th straight in series against Davidson

Bennett then converted a 3-point play on the possession after the free throws. Dayton led 64-61 with 46 seconds to play.

Dayton made 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to seal a 69-63 victory at UD Arena.

Here’s a quick recap of the game:

What it means: Dayton (16-7, 6-4) has won five of its last games since a three-game losing streak. The Flyers have won 10 straight games in the series against Davidson (13-9, 3-6) since a loss in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament quarterfinals in 2017.

Dayton moved into fourth place by itself with the victory, pending the results of other Tuesday games.

Star of the game: All five Dayton starters scored in double figures. Amaël L’Etang, Nate Santos and Javon Bennett each scored 13 points. Enoch Cheeks and Posh Alexander each had 10.

Stat of the game: Both teams struggled from 3-point range. Dayton shot 23.1% (6 of 26). Davidson shot 20.8% (5 of 24).

Blown lead: Dayton led by as many as 10 points in the second half. Davidson trailed 59-53 entering the final four minutes but then outscored Dayton 8-0 over the next three-plus minutes, taking a 61-59 lead on a basket by Conner Kochera with 51 seconds to play. Dayton called timeout after that basket, and the technical was called against Adam during the break in play.

Free throw edge: Dayton made 21 of 24 free throws (87.5). Davidson made 10 of 11 (90.9%).

Looking ahead: Dayton plays Virginia Commonwealth (18-5, 8-2) at 7 p.m. Friday at UD Arena. VCU beat La Salle 96-66 on Tuesday.

HALFTIME RECAP

The Dayton Flyers and Davidson combined to make 5 of 25 3-pointers in the half half, and Dayton took a 28-26 lead into halftime.

Here’s a quick recap of the first half:

Key players: Santos led Dayton with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting.

Connor Kochera led Davidson with six points on 3-of-7 shooting.

Key stat: Dayton shot 20% (2 of 10) from 3-point range. Davidson shot 13.3% (2 of 15).

Big run: Dayton trailed 6-4 after the first four minutes and then scored the next seven points to take an 11-6 lead on a dunk by Zed Key with 14 minutes, 25 seconds remaining.

Close game: Dayton didn’t trail in the last 14 minutes but led by no more than four points in that stretch. Davidson tied the game twice.

Lineup news: Dayton guard Malachi Smith missed the game with an illness. Alexander started in his place.