“It was crazy,” Cunningham said. “It felt like I hadn’t played basketball in months, and I hadn’t. It was just a fun experience to be back out there with my teammates. I really enjoyed the time, and I appreciate the coaches putting me in.”
Scouts watching: Charles Cooke missed the first game against Rhode Island with back and wrist injuries, so he didn't get to display his talents in front of a sizable group of NBA scouts at that Jan. 6 game. Scouts from the Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz got to see him play Friday. He scored 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
One mock draft by NBADraft.net has Cooke going to the Thunder late in the second round.
Top scorers: Cooke wasn't the only pro prospect in the game. Between them, the Rams and Flyers have six 1,000-point scorers. Here were their career totals entering the game:
• Dayton: Cooke (1,447); Scoochie Smith (1,153); and Kendall Pollard (1,041).
• Rhode Island: Hassan Martin (1,146); E.C. Matthews (1,347); and Jared Terrell (1,041).
Still sidelined: Rhode Island junior point guard Jarvis Garrett missed his eighth straight game with an illness. He had three points in 31 minutes in the first game against the Flyers. He played the next game against La Salle and hasn't played since.
Next game: Dayton plays at Saint Louis (8-16, 3-8) at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Dayton won the first matchup 67-46 on Jan. 22 at UD Arena.
The Billikens are 3-2 since losing to Dayton. They beat Massachusetts 74-70, George Mason 76-74 in overtime on a last-second shot by Mike Crawford and also beat North Carolina A&T 78-59 in non-conference play.
Saint Louis hosts Duquesne (9-15, 2-9) at 8 p.m. Saturday.
Around the A-10: Virginia Commonwealth (19-5, 9-2) plays host to Davidson (12-10, 5-6) at 8 p.m. Saturday. The other team in the top four, Richmond (14-9, 8-3) plays at La Salle at 2 p.m.
About the Author
