Flyers Flip the Script, Earn Payback Against Saint Louis
(Photo via daytonmbb Instagram)
Gabriel Ward | Sports Editor
DAYTON, Ohio – The University of Dayton men’s basketball team (19-9, 10-5) defeated the No. 23-ranked Saint Louis Billikens (25-3, 13-2) 77-62 in an Atlantic 10 Conference matchup on Tuesday night in front of 13,407 fans at UD Arena.
Despite the Billikens dominating the first half in the two teams’ first meeting earlier this season, propelling them to a 102-71 victory, Dayton was in full control in the first half this time around, getting out to an 18-6 lead less than 10 minutes into the game. Reigning A10 co-player of the week, Amael L’Etang once again put on a show as he led both teams in scoring during the first half, with 16 points. For SLU, only two players had more than five points, with both Kellen Thames and Dion Brown having nine.
The story of the first half was SLU’s 3-point shooting. In the first matchup between the two teams, SLU shot 7-11 from three in the first half, and Dayton shot 2-8. Those stories were flipped this time as SLU started out the game 0-11 from three before Brown finally converted for the Billikens with 3:25 remaining in the half. Dayton, on the other hand, went a combined 7-11 from three in the first half.
From 10:13 to 4:54 remaining in the half, the Flyers made nine consecutive field goal attempts. During that stretch, Dayton extended its lead from 15-6 to its largest first-half lead of 38-13.
SLU was able to cut into the Flyers’ lead to finish off the half with a 9-0 run from 3:25 until 1:43 left to bring Dayton’s lead down to 16. The teams would exchange multiple baskets to end the half, and Dayton took a 44-28 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, the Flyers answered every Saint Louis push. With 13:44 remaining in the game, Robbie Avila made a 3-pointer, cutting the Flyers’ lead to 53-40. But Dayton responded with a quick 6-0 run to bring its lead back to 19.
Unlike the first half, in the second half the Flyers struggled from three, shooting 1-9, with the only make being courtesy of Javon Bennett. Dayton made up for the lack of 3-point shooting in the second half by being near perfect from the free throw line, going 14-16 throughout the half, which included L’Etang going a perfect 10-10 from the line in the half.
Late in the game, the Billikens seemed like they were about to make a run when, with 3:49 left, Thames made a layup while drawing a foul from L’Etang, cutting the deficit to 11, although he would miss the free throw. As they had all half, Dayton would respond with a 10-2 run to seal the victory.
In the final seconds of the game, Jordan Derkack would dunk the ball and hang on the rim, receiving a technical foul but lighting up the crowd in the process. After some late points from SLU, the Flyers won 77-62, splitting the regular season series with the Billikens.
With the win, Dayton moves to 19-9 overall and 10-5 in conference play. For SLU, the loss drops them to 25-3 overall and 13-2 in conference play.
The Flyers will return to action Friday, Feb. 27, when they take on George Washington (16-12, 7-8) in Washington, D.C. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN2.