Holmes leads Dayton to victory against St. Bonaventure

Here’s a quick recap of the game:

What it means: Dayton (18-3, 8-1) completed a 2-0 week at home with victories against George Washington and St. Bonaventure. The Flyers are 11-0 at UD Arena this season.

Dayton trails Richmond (16-5, 8-0) by a half game. The Spiders play at Virginia Commonwealth at 4 p.m. Saturday.

St. Bonaventure (13-8, 4-5) lost its fifth straight game against the Flyers at UD Arena. Dayton has won eight of the last nine games in the series.

Star of the game: Holmes scored 25 of his 34 points in the second half. He made 10 of 15 field goals, 1 of 2 3-pointers and 13 of 17 free throws. Both of St. Bonaventure’s centers, Chad Venning and Noel Brown, fouled out trying to guard him.

Holmes punctuated the victory with a fast-break dunk in the final seconds as Dayton beat the St. Bonaventure press. He last scored 34 points a year ago as a sophomore in a loss to George Mason at UD Arena.

Key stat: Led by Holmes, Dayton made 23 of 29 free throws, while St. Bonaventure made 5 of 8.

Turning point: St. Bonaventure tied the game at 54-54 at the 7:24 mark. A free throw by Holmes then started a 9-0 Dayton run over over the next four minutes. Holmes scored six points at the line during that stretch, and Koby Brea made a 3-pointer.

Looking ahead: Dayton plays Saint Joseph’s (14-7, 4-4) at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Hagan Arena in Philadelphia. Saint Joseph’s plays at La Salle (11-10, 2-6) at noon Saturday.

Dayton beat Saint Joseph’s twice last season: 76-56 at UD Arena in January; and 60-54 in the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament in March. Dayton won 74-62 in 2022 in its last trip to Hagan Arena. Dayton is 3-10 at Hagan Arena this century. It ended a nine-game losing streak in the building with an 80-67 victory in 2020.

Saint Joseph’s has won its last three home games against La Salle, George Mason and Duquesne since losing 78-75 to Loyola Chicago on Jan. 13.

FIRST-HALF RECAP

Mika Adams-Wood made a jump shot at the buzzer to give St. Bonaventure a 30-28 halftime lead.

Here’s a quick recap of the first half:

Key player: Holmes led all scorers with nine points. He made 4 of 6 field goals.

Key stat: Dayton made 1 of 12 3-pointers (8.3%). St. Bonaventure made 2 of 10 (20%).

Turning point: Dayton opened the game with a 7-0 run in the first five minutes. It stretched its lead to 11-4 and then 17-9 at the 8:20 mark. St. Bonaventure outscored Dayton 21-11 from that point.

Foul trouble: St. Bonaventure center Chad Venning picked up his second foul with 4:42 left in the half and did not return in the half. He had six points on 3-of-4 shooting.