All the cutouts witnessed what most UD fans could only see on television: a 66-60 Dayton victory in which the Flyers built a double-digit lead only to fade in the final minutes, hanging on to beat Northern Kentucky despite 22 turnovers.
In short, the Flyers won this game in much the same way they beat Eastern Illinois 66-63 in the opener a week earlier. It wasn’t pretty, but it was better than losing 66-64 at the buzzer, which is what happened Saturday against Southern Methodist.
“I’m glad we won,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said, “but at the same time, I think there are some things we did tonight that it will be hard for us to sustain winning if we continue to do. Some of them have been consistent issues. Others are new. We can’t accept in victory what we wouldn’t accept in defeat. That was my message to the guys after the game. We have to understand moving forward if this team can do what I think it’s capable of doing, we’ve got to fix this. That’s on me as a coach. I have to help these guys figure it out. I have to put them in situations where they can play to their strengths and do what they’re capable of doing.”
Dayton won despite committing 22 turnovers, its highest total since it had 23 against Auburn exactly two years earlier. Through three games, Dayton is averaging 18.7 turnovers per game.
Dayton won by shooting 52 percent from the field. It made 22 of 37 shots inside the arc and was especially effective during a 22-2 run that started with 2:28 left in the first half and ended three minutes into the second half.
“The big thing was we just played together,” Dayton forward Chase Johnson said. “We wanted to play Dayton basketball and get good shots in the paint.”
During that stretch, Dayton turned a 32-27 deficit into a 49-34 lead, its largest of the game. Dayton made 8 of 12 field goals during the run and scored six points in less than a minute late in the run on three fast-break layups after turnovers.
“We got stops, and we got out in transition,” Grant said. “Early we had to play against a set defense pretty much every possession because they were scoring at a high clip and they were able to set their defense. They did a good job taking some things away from us. We got stagnant where we stood around and couldn’t get flow and continuity. We didn’t throw it to guys who were open and tried to throw it to guys who were guarded. It was a rough start. But I thought once our defense was able to get stops, the transition opened up, and that’s where we built our lead.”
Ibi Watson led Dayton with 19 points on 5-of-10 shooting. He made 7 of 8 free throws. Jalen Crutcher scored a season-high 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting and added eight assists while committing only two turnovers. Chase Johnson had his first double-double: 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Northern Kentucky (2-2) lost in part because it continued to struggle from 3-point range and at the free-throw line. It’s shooting 27.4 percent from long range after four games and made 5 of 24 3-pointers (20.8 percent) in this game. It made 13 of 23 free throws (56.5 percent), which is close to its season average of 57.5.
The Norse did trim a double-digit deficit to four points in the final minute. Crutcher sealed the victory with two free throws.
“There are a lot of areas tonight where we got outplayed,” Grant said. “I got outcoached. We were fortunate to get the win. We’ll figure it out. I still believe this team can figure it out.”
About the Author
