The University of Dayton men’s basketball team hosts its second exhibition game of the season tonight against Walsh University at UD Arena. Dayton is coming off a 77-58 win against Findlay University on Saturday, Oct. 28 in its first exhibition game on the schedule.
Walsh was in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday, Oct. 30 to take on the Ohio State University in its exhibition opener, giving the Buckeyes a game but ultimately falling 83-71.
Tonight will be a good test for the inexperienced UD front court in facing Walsh senior forward Kenny Kornowski. Prior to suffering an ACL injury midway through last season, Kornowski was averaging 18.4 points per game in 11 contests to go with 8.8 rebounds. Against Dayton last year, he scored 30 points in a 92-78 losing effort. He had 12 points in his return to the floor on Tuesday, Oct. 30 against the Ohio State University in a 83-71 loss in its exhibition opener.
Here are the listed starting lineups for both teams:
Walsh University
F 33 Kenny Kornowski 6-9, 230lbs 5th yr
F 21 Jordan Walker 6-6, 180lbs Jr.
C 30 Hrvoje Vucic 7-1, 245lbs Jr.
G 3 Davonte Beard 6-2, 180lbs So.
G 11 Brad DuPont 6-0, 195lbs Jr.
University of Dayton
F 5 Devin Oliver 6-7, 200lbs Jr.
F 12 Jalen Robinson 6-9, 245lbs Fr.
C 2 Josh Benson 6-9, 223lbs Sr.
G 1 Kevin Dillard 6-0, 170lbs Sr.
G 43 Vee Sanford 6-3, 180lbs Jr.
1st Half
15:54 left, Walsh 9, UD 7. Walsh came out firing against Ohio State on Tuesday and its hot shooting has continued into tonight with a 4-5 start from the field. Robinson has touched the ball on nearly every possession for UD and has an attacking mentality, not wanting to back down from putting up a shot. Devon Scott was first off the bench for UD, coming in Robinson.
11:22 left, Walsh 15, UD 14. UD’s size is playing strong in the paint and gaining access to easier shots around the rim, as shown by Benson, Scott and Robinson combining to make five of UD’s six field goals. Sanford took over at the point when Dillard exited, keeping freshman Khari Price on the wing. Dayton sticking with an eight-man rotation early, as it did against Findlay.
7:47 left, Walsh 23, UD 16. Freshman Dyshawn Pierre checked in for his UD debut coming out of the break. Walsh went on a 8-2 run to extend its lead to seven and head coach Archie Miller asked for a 30-second time out. UD is opening it up more from the outside tonight, but finding little success with an 0-for-7 start from three-point range.
2:40 left, Walsh 33, UD 23. Oliver got UD on the board from long-range, but Walsh countered with another three of its own from Jesse Hardin, who had Price’s hand in his face. Beard followed it up with another triple for Walsh to make them 7-for-10 from the outside thus far.
Halftime, Walsh 35, UD 27. Walsh finished the first half strong, unlike its game against OSU in holding onto the lead it built into the break. Walsh was 54% from the floor and 63% from three, while UD only shot 33% from the floor and a miserable 1-of-12 from three. Dayton only forced seven fouls onto Walsh in the opening half, and did not convert there either, shooting 2-for-6. Benson led UD with eight points, and Beard and Kornowski also had eight each for Walsh.
2nd Half
15:29 left, UD 46, Walsh 40. Dayton used an 11-1 run out of the break to take the lead before play went back and forth. Benson got Dayton going early with back-to-back field goals in the first 40 seconds and added another score later. Dayton turned his second into a four-point possession, corralling his missed free throw before getting a driving layup from Dillard. Robinson went down after a Sanford three, holding his ankle before leaving the game. The early Dayton run was capped by Dillard’s breakaway dunk, causing Walsh head coach Jeff Young to call a timeout. Dayton has started 9-of-10 from the field this half.
11:38 left, UD 56, Walsh 45. Both teams have settled after the opening minutes of the half, with some good defense being played both ways, but UD has continued to extend its lead by attacking the paint. Scott and Benson have played the bulk of the minutes after Robinson went down, who appears to be fine on the bench.
7:11 left, UD 59, Walsh 51. Robinson checked back in to defend Kornowski, who has been quiet in this half. He left with the slightest of hobbles a minute later. Much like against Ohio State, Walsh is playing UD even for the most part now and is not letting the game get away from them. Dayton overall is still struggling from the outside, being just 4-for-20 from three.
3:48 left, UD 69, Walsh 59. Dayton’s hot shooting all half culminated in its largest lead at 13, but Walsh continues to fight back and make UD work to the end. Dayton is shooting just under 70% in this half and has outrebounded Walsh 19-8.
Final: UD 8, Walsh 6. Pushing the tempo, Dayton ran the floor every time it gained possession in extending the final margin. UD’s 71% second half field goal percentage helped push the team over 50% for the game. Benson led all scorers with 22 points on 11-of-15 shooting and had 12 rebounds to get the double-double.
Dayton showed signs of its youth throughout the first half in allowing themselves to get pushed around a bit, but came out firing in the second half by using their superior skill and athleticism to take control. Two good tests in exhibition play for UD overall as the team now heads into its regular season opener against Arkansas State on Saturday, Nov. 10.
