Here’s a quick recap of the game:
What it means: Dayton (11-4, 1-1) suffered its first Atlantic 10 Conference loss of the season. It suffered its second straight loss at the Smith Center, where it is 6-15 all time. That is Dayton’s worst mark against any current A-10 program on the road.
This is Dayton’s first loss against a team not ranked in the top 100 of the NCAA Evaluation Tool since the 2022-23 season. George Washington was No. 151 entering the game.
George Washington (14-3, 1-1) bounced back from a 66-61 loss at Richmond on Tuesday, improving to 9-0 at home this season.
Stars of the game: Christian Jones scored 23 points, and Gerald Drumgoole Jr. scored 21 for the Revolutionaries. They combined to make 10 of 20 3-pointers.
Jones, a redshirt freshman guard averaging 7.4 points per game, started the game in place, of George Washington’s leading scorer, sophomore guard Darren Buchanan (15.1 points per game). He suffered an injury in practice Friday, according to a report by Abe Rothstein, of WRGW Sports.
Nate Santos led Dayton with 23 points on 7-of-16 shooting.
Turning point: Dayton cut a 16-point halftime deficit to three points with 12 minutes, 38 seconds left in the second half on a 3-pointer by Posh Alexander. It then had two chances to trim the GW lead to one point.
Dayton still faced only a four-point deficit with 6:32 to play but it could get no closer. It scored only two points in the last six minutes. George Washington outscored Dayton 18-2 in that stretch and 13-0 to end the game. It made three 3-pointers in the final two minutes.
Looking ahead: Dayton plays Massachusetts at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass. Dayton has won eight straight games in the series, including three straight at UMass, since an 86-82 loss in double overtime in Amherst in 2018. UD is 8-11 in games at UMass since entering the A-10 in the 1995-96 season.
HALFTIME RECAP
Dayton trailed George Washington by as many as 17 points in the first half and faced a 43-27 halftime deficit.
Here’s a quick recap of the first half:
Key players: Jones scored 13 of his 15 first-half points in the first five minutes. He made 3 of 5 3-pointers.
Santos led Dayton with 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting. He made 4 of 4 free throws.
Key stat: George Washington made 8 of 18 3-pointers (44.4%), including a 3 by Drumgoole at the buzzer to end the half. Dayton made 2 of 8 (25%).
Big run: Dayton fell into an 8-0 hole but cut the deficit to 8-6 on 3s by Javon Bennett and Santos. George Washington then outscored Dayton 15-1 in the next four minutes to build a 23-7 lead.
Comeback attempt: Dayton trailed by 11 after a layup by Malachi Smith with 56 seconds to play. George Washington scored the last five points of the half to push the lead to 16 points.
Big deficit: Dayton faced its biggest halftime deficit of the season. It trailed Northwestern 32-24 at halftime and won that game 71-66. It trailed Western Michigan 35-32 at halftime and won 77-69. It trailed UNLV 28-27 at halftime and won 66-65. It trailed Cincinnati 25-17 at halftime and lost 66-59.
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