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DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Dayton Flyers won their fourth straight game in an 81-56 win over the Florida Atlantic University Owls on Saturday night at UD Arena. Devin Oliver recorded a double-double with 13 points and a career-high 14 rebounds as four Flyers scored in double figures. Dayton improves to 8-2, while FAU is now 5-5.
Jalen Robinson also pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds as Oliver and Robinson combined to haul in 28 boards. The duo combined for as many offensive rebounds as the entire Owls team (13), with Oliver grabbing seven offensive rebounds and Robinson six. Robinson’s 14 rebounds for a single game tie for the fifth-most ever by a freshman and doubled his previous career-high of seven rebounds.
Matt Derenbecker buried five three-pointers en route to a Dayton career-high of 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Kevin Dillard scored all 14 of his points in the first half while Vee Sanford scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half.
Runs were the theme for both teams for much of the first half. In fact, UD’s first 26 points came via three separate runs. UD went on an 8-0 run, a 7-0 run and an 11-0 run in the first stanza.
Dayton started the game on an 8-0 run, including the first six points by Kevin Dillard, over the span of two minutes and 38 seconds. However, FAU would respond with a 12-0 run of its own to take a 12-8 lead with 15:14 left until halftime. UD would counter with a 7-0 spurt to regain a 15-12 lead with 12:33 remaining until halftime. That gave Dayton a lead that they would not relinquish.
A Greg Gantt lay-up with 11:29 remaining in the first half cut the Flyer lead to 15-14, but then UD went on another push. This time it was an 11-0 run over two minutes and 40 seconds to give the Flyers a 26-14 lead. UD would not let Florida Atlantic come within single digits again.
The Flyers entered the locker room with a 37-24 lead as they shot 50% (15-of-30) in the first half. The UD defense held the Owls to just 28.6% (8-of-28) and 11 turnovers in the first half.
Dayton was in control for most of the second half as Sanford gave UD a 68-47 lead after he converted a three-point play with 4:18 remaining in the game. Derenbecker buried his fourth three-pointer of the contest to give the Flyers a 74-53 lead with 2:37 left. Another Derenbecker three gave UD its biggest lead of 27 points (81-54) with 45 seconds remaining in the game.
Overall, Dayton shot 46.8% (29-of-62) from the field while FAU shot 30.2% (16-of-53). UD dominated the glass 45-31 as the Flyers have now won the rebounding battle in every game but one this season. Dayton outscored the Owls in the paint 38-16 and had 17 points off turnovers compared to FAU’s nine points.
The Flyers will play the third game of a four-game home stand against the Illinois State Redbirds on Wednesday night. Tip-off from UD Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
