Dayton routs George Washington for first A-10 victory

Playing in front of approximately 50 spectators and no ticketed fans, Dayton (9-6, 1-1) led from start to finish en route to an 83-58 victory. The Flyers avoided their first 0-2 start in Atlantic 10 Conference play since the 2012-13 season.

Five players scored in double figures for Dayton: Toumani Camara (14); Malachi Smith (13); Elijah Weaver and DaRon Holmes II (12 each); and Mustapha Amzil (10).

Dayton shot 58.6 percent (37-63) from the field — just off its season high of 58.7 — and 50 percent (8 of 16) from 3-point range. It’s the second time it has topped 50 percent from 3-point range. It made 11 of 19 (57.9 percent) against Miami.

Dayton has now won two straight games at the Charles E. Smith Center after losing four straight games in the arena. This was its first game at GW since 2019 when it rallied from a 22-point deficit to win.

This was George Washington’s first A-10 game. The Colonials (4-9, 0-1) had not played since beating Radford on Dec. 13 because of COVID-19 issues within their program.

HALFTIME RECAP

Dayton shot 56.6 percent (17 of 29) from the field and 44.4 percent (4 of 9) from 3-point range to build a 38-23 halftime lead.

Dayton led from start to finish in the half. Smith led the Flyers with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Camara scored eight points.

Dayton committed 12 turnovers in the first half for the second straight game. George Washington had 10 turnovers.

The Flyers had a 22-12 rebounding advantage and scored 14 points off turnovers. The Colonials, playing their first game since Dec. 13, shot 30 percent (9 of 30) from the field and 26.7 percent (4 of 15) from 3-point range.

Dayton took control with a 14-0 run starting at the 15:11 mark with a layup by Smith and ending with a jumper by Smith at the 9:06 mark.