Men’s Basketball Update: Double-Digit Flyers Top Tennessee Tech

By: Kenny Kirchner – Staff Writer

Dayton men’s basketball beat the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles 79-66 in an exciting contest Wednesday night at the UD Arena.  The win ended a two-game losing streak, improving the team’s record to 4-4.   

The Flyers dominated the Golden Eagles for just about the entirety of the game–they led for 34 of its 40 minutes.  The largest lead for the Flyers was 17 points in the second half.  

“We talk about this a lot: it always starts on the defensive end,” Head Coach Anthony Grant said after the game. “I thought the first half we really set the tone from a defensive standpoint; made it difficult for them to get any rhythm.”

Tennessee Tech’s three-point shooting kept them in contention, as they hit 10 of 24 three-point attempts.  But the Flyers’ consistent offense (31-of-54 from the floor) led them to victory.

Five Flyers recorded double-digit points: Josh Cunningham, Darrell Davis, Trey Landers, Kostas Antetokounmpo and Jordan Davis.

Darrell Davis again led the team in points with 19.

“I think he’s understanding more of his role and what the team needs out of him both offensively and defensively,” Grant said of Davis. “It was great to see the ball movement that led to some of the open shots that he was able to get.”
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Two Flyers ended the game with a double-double: Josh Cunningham and Kostas Antetokounmpo.  

Cunningham, a redshirt junior forward, shot 6-for-6 from the field with 16 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. Cunningham said, “You can tell that in practice we went hard and it transferred over to the game…We just want to continue from here.”

Cunningham wasn’t UD’s only double-double, though. Antetokounmpo joined him with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Foul trouble has limited Antetokounmpo’s playing time in recent games, but he was able to stay on the floor for 37 minutes Wednesday night–more playing time than any other Flyer.

“I just tried to play as hard as I can and as clean as I can,” he said of his adjustments.

“He’s understanding a little bit more of what we want and what he needs to do to be effective and it was good to see him being able to stay on the floor tonight,” Grant said of Antetokounmpo.

Antetokounmpo said after Sunday’s game against Mississippi State that he received advice from many people to stay out of foul trouble including his brother, NBA-star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

“He basically told me, when you get your first foul, you always got to lay low,” Kostas said. “Then just try to play out as hard as you can, as soon as you can. Then that’s it; don’t try to get in foul trouble back to back.”

The Flyers next game is 3 p.m. Saturday against Penn at UD Arena. Penn is 7-4, coming off a win against Lafayette.

Photos by Griffin Quinn/Staff Photographer

 
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