Dayton (20-8, 13-3) remains one game behind Davidson (23-4, 13-2) with three games to play. Davidson won 74-50 at last-place Duquesne (6-20, 1-13) on Wednesday.
Virginia Commonwealth (19-7, 12-3) beat George Mason 72-66 in Richmond, Va., on Wednesday to stay tied with Dayton in second place.
St. Bonaventure (18-7, 10-4) beat Rhode Island 73-64 on Tuesday. The Bonnies sit alone in fourth place, a half game ahead of Saint Louis (19-9, 10-5), which beat Saint Joseph’s 72-61 on Tuesday.
This is the 16th 20-win season this century for Dayton and the third in Anthony Grant’s five seasons as coach. Dayton reached 20 wins in its 22nd game in 2020 and in its 30th game in 2019.
Dayton made 10 of 17 3-pointers (58.8%), its second-best percentage of the season, while holding the A-10′s best 3-point shooting team to 32.1% (9 of 28). Brea made 4 of 7 3s. Amzil made 4 of 5.
Toumani Camara scored 12 points. R.J. Blakney scored 11. DaRon Holmes II had 10. Malachi Smithn had nine assists and six points.
Dayton outscored UMass 40-18 in the paint and had a 36-24 rebounding advantage.
Dayton plays La Salle (7-17, 2-12), which lost 60-54 at Fordham on Wednesday, at 2 p.m. Saturday at Tom Gola Arena in Philadelphia. It then plays at sixth-place Richmond (18-10, 9-6) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. It closes the regular season against Davidson at 12:30 p.m. March 5 at UD Arena.
HALFTIME RECAP
The Dayton Flyers shot 69% in the first half and built a 46-23 halftime lead.
Dayton ended the half on a 6-0 run with Kobe Elvis turning a UMass turnover into a layup in the final seconds.
Dayton made 20 of 29 shots, including 5 of 9 3-pointers, while UMass shot 30.4% (7 of 23) and made 3 of 12 (25%) 3-pointers.
Brea led Dayton with 10 points. Camara, Holmes and Amzil each had eight. Smith led the Flyers with seven assists.
Dayton led 14-12 after seven minutes and then broke open the game with a 14-2 run over the next four minutes.
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