McNamara looked spiritful and frightening at the same time. At one point during Dayton’s 72-59 victory against Davidson, he tried to get a high five from a player but was left hanging. He wore the same mask to the games in the Charleston Classic. He said he has more just like it at home in Cleveland.
McNamara’s favorite team, the Flyers, did not need to disguise themselves on opening night of Atlantic 10 Conference play. They revealed they are the same team they’ve been all year, whether they’re playing at UD Arena or in front of a semi-hostile crowd drawn to Belk Arena in part because of a free-beer promotion.
While four of the teams picked to finish in the top six in the A-10 preseason poll opened the 18-game schedule with a loss, Dayton led from start to finish. It stretched its winning streak to eight games, its longest since a 20-game streak to end the 2019-20 season.
“Road wins are hard to come by,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “This is the first of 18. Now we’ll get ready for the next one.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Dayton (11-3) won its eighth straight game in the series against Davidson and its fifth straight game at Belk Arena since a loss in 2015. Davidson (10-4) saw a seven-game winning streak end and lost at home for the first time this season after seven straight victories.
Elsewhere in the A-10, defending champion Virginia Commonwealth lost 89-78 at home to St. Bonaventure. Saint Joseph’s, the league’s second-highest ranked team in the NCAA Evaluation Tool, lost 78-74 at Rhode Island. George Washington, one of two A-10 teams with 11 victories in non-conference play, lost 119-113 in triple overtime at home to Fordham. Saint Louis, picked sixth in the preseason, lost 80-73 at home to Loyola, which finished last a year ago.
Dayton moved from No. 25 to No. 23 in the NET with a Quad 2 victory against Davidson, which fell from No. 107 to No. 127. UD climbed from No. 39 to a season-best No. 33 in the Ken Pomeroy ratings. It is 11-2 for the first time since 2020 when it finished 29-2.
“It’s real big, especially because it’s the first conference game,” forward Nate Santos said. “I think that kind of sets the tone for our team and hopefully to the rest of the conference that we’re here and that we’re ready to play.”
Santos scored 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting. He made 3 of 5 3-pointers. DaRon Holmes II made 5 of 11 shots and 8 of 12 free throws and scored 18 points. Kobe Elvis scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half. He made 7 of 11 field goals, including 3 of 6 3-pointers.
Dayton shot 33.3% (7 of 21), its fourth-worst number of the season, from 3-point range but 61.3% (19 of 31) from 2-point range, its second-best effort.
“There’s a reason why they were the preseason favorite,” second-year Davidson coach Matt McKillop told the Charlotte Observer after the game. “That’s the team that we saw today. They’re a challenge to defend because they have front-court players, as talented as DaRon Holmes, and then they’ve got elite shooting on the perimeter.”
Dayton showed improvement on the boards. It had a 36-29 rebounding advantage, thanks in part to Enoch Cheeks tying his career high with 10, and had one more offensive rebound (8-7) than Davidson.
Grant liked the team’s performance on defense the most. Dayton held Davidson, which was playing without is leading scorer, center David Skogman, who sat on the bench with a protective boot on his right foot, to its second-lowest points total of the season.
The Flyers had a season-high 12 steals. They turned a number of those steals into fast-break baskets, scoring 18 points off 15 Davidson turnovers.
“Defensively, the guys did a really good job,” Grant said. “Davidson is a tough prep with the pace they play at and the versatility they have.”
Cheeks had four steals. Javon Bennett had three.
“We knew how good they were going to be offensively with the way they move without the ball,” Bennett said. “We really had pride in practice and decided they’re not going to score on us.”
Dayton opened the game with a 6-0 run and broke open the game with a 10-0 run midway through the first half, turning an 8-7 lead into a 18-7 advantage. With a 9-1 run in the last five minutes of the first half, Dayton built a 36-21 halftime lead. Davidson got no closer than 11 points in the second half, and Dayton led by as many as 19.
“We were able to answer their runs and stretch it back out,” Grant said. “That’s what you got to be able to do, especially on the road.”
SUNDAY’S GAME
Dayton vs. Massachusetts, 1 p.m., ESPN2, 1290, 95.7
Credit: David Jablonski
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