Dayton routs Grambling State for third straight victory

Here’s a quick recap of the game:

What it means: Dayton (6-2) has won three straight games since losing to Houston in the Charleston Classic championship game. It improved to 3-0 at home. The Flyers have won 13 straight non-conference home games since losing three in a row early in the 2021-22 season.

Grambling State (2-6), the lowest-ranked team on Dayton’s schedule in the Ken Pomeroy ratings, lost its fifth straight game.

Star of the game: Dayton’s Nate Santos scored a career-high 26 points. He made 10 of 12 field goals, including 6 of 7 3-pointers. He hit his previous high of 19 points in a 70-67 victory against LSU.

Key stat: Dayton made 14 of 28 3-pointers. It has shot 50% or better three times this season.

Big run: Grambling State took a 4-0 lead in the opening minutes. Dayton then ran off 14 straight points in a four-minute span. Santos scored eight points in that stretch.

Memorable moment: At halftime, Dayton honored members of its 1983-84 team that reached the Elite Eight. Coach Don Donoher, leading scorer Roosevelt Chapman and all but three players from that team were introduced at center court. Dayton’s current coach Anthony Grant, who was a freshman on that team, left the locker room early to join the ceremony, and the current Flyers also watched from the bench. The former Flyers and current Flyers than shook hands.

Looking ahead: Dayton plays UNLV (3-3) at 9 p.m. The game will be broadcast by the CBS Sports Network. Dayton traveled to UNLV last season and lost 60-52.

Wednesday at UD Arena. It will be UNLV’s first game since a 72-70 victory against Akron in Las Vegas, Nev. UNLV’s losses are to Southern, Florida State and Richmond. Its other victories are against Stetson and Pepperdine.