The Dayton Flyers couldn’t make much inside or outside the 3-point arc in an 82-62 loss in Washington, D.C. They shot a season-worst 35% (21 of 60) from the field. It was the 12th time in 236 games in coach Anthony Grant’s eight seasons the team has shot 35% or worse and the first time since a 65-57 loss to Duquesne (16 of 50, 32%) in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament last March.
Dayton struggled from 3-point range (4 of 15, 26.7%) but also didn’t finish enough shots at the basket. Perhaps, most crucially, Zed Key used a shot fake to create space for a wide-open layup that would have cut George Washington’s lead to one point with 12 minutes, 18 seconds to play, but he missed the attempt.
Dayton had another chance on the next possession. This time, Posh Alexander missed a layup on the fast break.
Dayton’s worst performance of the season on offense coincided with George Washington’s best shooting day. The Revolutionaries made 15 of 31 (48.4%) despite not having their top scorer, guard Darren Buchanan, available because of an injury.
“It was ridiculous,” Dayton forward Zed Key said. “They hit everything.”
Christian Jones, a freshman guard, replaced Buchanan in the starting lineup and gave George Washington a 5-0 lead with a layup and a 3-pointer in the first 90 seconds. Dayton had no one in the vicinity when he attempted the 3. Nate Santos and Javon Bennett ran at him after he caught the pass.
George Washington took an 8-0 lead when Gerald Drumgoole Jr. made a shot from three to four steps behind the 3-point line in front of Bennett.
Jones took over again for the next two 3s, making back-to-back shots in front of Cheeks and then Malachi Smith. The Revs led 14-6 at that point.
“I think what worked well for us was the fact that they didn’t know the game plan,” said Drumgoole, who made 5 of 12 3s and has made 18 of 36 in the last four games. “With (Buchanan) being out, that’s at least 15 to 17 points a game. Today a lot of players stepped up for us and made big time plays in big moments.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Turning point: Dayton trailed 64-60 with under six minutes to play. A missed 3 by Smith and then two straight turnovers by Smith played a part in a three-minute scoreless drought for Dayton. George Washington pushed its lead to 69-60 in that stretch.
On the first turnover, Smith threw a pass to Bennett in the corner, but Drumgoole intercepted it with one hand. The next time down the court, Smith threw a pass to Key in the paint. Sean Hansen, who was behind Key, came around him to slap the ball down, and Trey Moss grabbed the loose ball for the Revs.
Since recording 11 assists and one turnover in Dayton’s 71-63 victory against No. 6 Marquette, Smith has 21 assists and 14 turnovers in four games.
NET update: Dayton fell 10 spots to No. 54 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool after the loss. George Washington (12-3, 3-1) climbed from No. 138 to No. 123. If George Washington can stay in the top 135, it will be a Quad 2 loss for Dayton instead of a Quad 3.
Around the A-10: Saint Bonaventure, Saint Louis and Richmond (all 2-0) are the only teams with perfect A-10 records after one week of league play. The Bonnies (14-1 overall) play at Saint Louis (9-6) on Wednesday.
• Virginia Commonwealth (11-4, 1-1) bounced back from a 77-75 loss at St. Bonaventure with an 84-64 victory at Loyola Chicago on Saturday. After scoring 26 points against the Bonnies, Philip Russell scored 25 against the Ramblers. He made 11 of 20 3-pointers in the two games.
WEDNESDAY’S GAME
Dayton at UMass, 7 p.m., Peacock, 1290, 95.7
About the Author
