University of Dayton junior center Matt Kavanaugh has been named Co-Player of the Week in the Atlantic 10 Conference after leading the Flyers to an exciting 87-72 conference win over Xavier.

Kavanaugh, a Centerville High School product, scored 20 points and collected 9 boards in lifting Dayton into sole possession of first place in the A-10.  He shared the conference honor with La Salle guard Tyreek Duren, who averaged 19.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in games against Temple and Rhode Island.

Kavanaugh was efficient down low once again, going 8-9 from the field and 4-4 from the line in his second consecutive game with at least 20 points (he scored 23 against La Salle on Jan. 14).  In those two games he has shot .765 (13-17) from the floor and .944 (17-18) from the line while bringing down 18 rebounds (8 offensive).

With redshirt junior forward Josh Benson out for the season after tearing his ACL against Ole Miss in late December, Kavanaugh has elevated his play at the perfect time.  In Dayton’s five conference games, he is the team’s leading scorer (15.0 ppg) and is shooting .718 (28-39) from the field and .905 (19-21) at the stripe. 

On the season, he leads the team in rebounding (5.9) and free throw percentage (.850).  He is also averaging 9.2 points per game while shooting .583 from the field.

Next up for the Flyers (14-5, 4-1 A-10) is a road clash with St. Joseph’s (12-8, 2-3 A-10) in Philadelphia on Wednesday.  Game time is 7:00 p.m. ET.  Dayton will return home Saturday night to host Rhode Island (3-17, 0-5 A-10) at 7:00 p.m. ET.  The Rhode Island meeting will be televised on WHIO-TV.