Dayton stays unbeaten at UD Arena with rout of UNC Asheville

DaRon Holmes II stars in sixth victory at home
Dayton's DaRon Holmes II dunks against UNC Asheville in the first half on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022, at UD Arena. David Jablonski/Staff

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

Dayton's DaRon Holmes II dunks against UNC Asheville in the first half on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022, at UD Arena. David Jablonski/Staff

The Dayton Flyers bounced back from their most-lopsided loss in seven years, a 77-49 defeat at Virginia Tech on Wednesday, with a 79-56 victory on Saturday afternoon against UNC Asheville at UD Arena.

Here’s a quick recap:

What it means: Dayton improved to 6-5 and stayed unbeaten at home with a 6-0 record. Judging by the Ken Pomeroy ratings, this is Dayton’s second-best victory of the season. Asheville (6-4) ranks 205th. Southern Methodist, which Dayton beat 74-62 in its second game of the season, is No. 181.

Star of the game: Dayton forward DaRon Holmes II scored 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting. He grabbed 12 rebounds, recording his fourth double-double in a row.

Stat of the game: Dayton made 6 of 14 3-pointers (42.9%). It’s the first time this season it has shot better than 35%.

Defensive success: Asheville ranked ninth in the country in 3-point shooting percentage (40.) entering the game and made a season-worst 5 of 22 (23%) against Dayton.

Big improvement: Koby Brea made three 3-pointers in the second half and scored a season-best 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting.

Looking ahead: Dayton plays Wyoming (4-5) at 8 p.m. Saturday at the United Center in Chicago.

FIRST-HALF RECAP

Dayton built a 34-19 halftime lead against UNC Asheville.

Here’s a quick recap of the first half:

Top player: Holmes had a double-double in the half with 15 points and 11 rebounds. He made 6 of 12 field goals. He also blocked three shots.

Key stat: Dayton shot 50% from the field (13 of 26) and held Asheville to 22.6% shooting (7 of 31).

Negative stat: Dayton built a double-digit lead despite 11 first-half turnovers.

Big run: Dayton outscored Asheville 10-0 from the 6:59 mark to the 1:41 mark.

Career firsts: Dayton walk-on Brady Uhl grabbed his first career rebound in the first half and made his first career 3-pointer. It was Dayton’s only made 3. The Flyers made 1 of 5.

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