Men’s Basketball Recap: Flyers Come Up Short Against Rhode Island

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By: Kenny Kirchner – Contributing Writer

Josh Cunningham’s career-high 32 points weren’t enough to propel the Flyers past the Rams Saturday afternoon as Dayton fell short, 88-74, at UD Arena. This loss puts the men’s squad below .500 with a record of 9-10 (3-4).

The game was one of physicality, turnovers and a lack of execution on the Flyers behalf.

There were a total of 23 fouls by both teams in the first half, but the Flyers committed the ones that counted.

“They were able to withstand the foul trouble in the first half better than we were,” coach Anthony Grant said.

“The cumulative effect of their pressure impacted the game. With their defense: full court pressure and offensively their ability to put pressure on you with the skill they had,” Grant said.

That pressure caused the Flyers to sloppily fold and be out hustled in front of a sold-out crowd.

Dayton had 21 turnovers next to Rhode Island’s 10, which translated into 24 points for the Rams.  As Rhode Island scored 16 second chance points, the Flyers only had two. Dayton grabbed three offensive rebounds which was nowhere near Rhode Island’s 12.

Only down seven at the half, the Flyers were still in it for a majority of the game. But the continued lack of defense in key moments gave the Rams the opportunities to create scoring runs.

“We just didn’t execute the game plan,” Cunningham said.

The senior forward also grabbed 12 rebounds to record his sixth double-double of the season.

While both guards Darrell Davis and Trey Landers put up 11 points each, outside of that eight players that touched the floor scored a combined 20 points.
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What’s next?

Dayton’s next home game is Tuesday at 7 p.m. against the Davidson Wildcats. The Wildcats hold a record of 10-7 (5-1).

In hopes of a win on Tuesday, Cunningham said, “If we come out with the energy we had tonight with less turnovers, I feel like we could beat anybody.”

Photo Courtesy of Griffin Quinn/Staff Photographer