Dayton opens A-10 play with double-digit victory against Duquesne

Here’s a quick recap of the game:

What it means: Dayton (9-5) won its fourth straight game and won their third straight game in the series with the Dukes, who have lost 10 straight games in Dayton.

Duquesne (9-4) has lost 17 straight A-10 games. It started last season with a 1-0 record in league play and then lost its last 16 games.

Star of the game: Dayton forward DaRon Holmes II scored 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting. He also led the team with 13 rebounds.

Stat of the game: Dayton made 8 of 20 3-pointers (40%). It has shot 40% or better four times in the last six games.

R.J. Blakney made 3 of 4 3-pointers and scored 17 points. Mustapha Amzil made 3 of 5 and scored 13.

Turning point: Duquesne got as close as six points early in the second half and trailed by eight with 12 minutes to play. The Flyers then began a 9-2 run to take their biggest lead, 60-45, on a 3-pointer by Amzil with 8:01 to play.

Looking ahead: Dayton plays Davidson at 2 p.m. Saturday at Belk Arena in Davidson, N.C. Davidson (8-5) beat Fordham (12-2) in the other opening-night game in A-10 play on Wednesday.

FIRST-HALF RECAP

The Flyers took a 37-32 lead into halftime after Duquesne ended the first half with a 6-0 run in the last 90 seconds.

Here’s a quick recap of the half:

Key player: Blakney scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the half. He made 2 of 2 3-pointers. His season high is 13 points against Lindenwood in the season opener.

Big run: Dayton opened the game with a 10-0 run. Holmes scored six of his 10 points in that stretch. Duquesne got on the board at the 16:23 mark.

Key stat: Dayton committed 12 turnovers. At one point, it had offensive fouls on three possessions in a row. Mike Sharavjamts had four turnovers, and Toumani Camara had three.

Dayton overcame its turnover issues by making 4 of 7 3-pointers.

Rotation news: For the second straight game, Dayton has only eight players available: seven scholarship players plus walk-on Brady Uhl, the only player who did not see action in the first half. Malachi Smith, Kobe Elvis, Richard Amaefule and walk-ons Atticus Schuler and Ty Locklear are on the bench in sweatsuits because of injuries.