DAYTON - The University of Dayton men's basketball team held on for a 67-64 win over Atlantic 10 Conference foe Rhode Island Friday night at UD Arena. Senior Scoochie Smith led all scorers with 21 points and was one of three Flyers in double-figures scoring.

Dayton improves to 12-3 overall and 3-0 in league action while Rhode Island falls to 10-5 on the season and 2-1 in A-10 play.

GAME BREAKDOWN
First Half: Rhode Island 27, Dayton 25
• Rhode Island scored the first seven points of the game, holding Dayton scoreless for 3:76
• Dayton pulled within one, 24-23, with 2:25 remaining in the half as sophomore Xeyrius Williams sank two free throws
• The Flyers were 6-for-6 from the line while the Rams did not shoot any free throws in the first half
• UD's Smith went 4-for-7 from the floor, including 2-for-3 from long range, in the first 20 minutes as the only player in double-figures scoring
Second Half: Dayton 67, Rhode Island 64
• Dayton evened the score at 29 points apiece just under two minutes into the second half on a made free throw by senior Kendall Pollard.
• The Flyers' first lead of the game came shortly after at 32-31 as senior Kyle Davis sank a three-point basket with 17:35 to play
• UD kept the game close and was able to regain the lead, 50-49, at 7:11 with an emphatic dunk by Pollard, kick-starting a 7-0 run for the Flyers.
• The Rams would pull within one late but the Flyers never gave up their lead, taking the game, 67-64.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Birthday-boy Kendall Pollard scored 18 points on his 22nd birthday as the second Flyers in double figures while Kyle Davis added 10
• Sophomore Ryan Mikesell was the team's leading rebounder with seven boards and Smith dished out a team-best six assists
• This was the 2017 senior class' 90th overall win, just seven victories shy of the school record for winningest class
• Dayton has now won five-consecutive and 10 of its last 11 games and is a perfect 11-0 when shooting 40 percent or better from the floor
• UD out-shot URI from the floor, 46.9 percent to 44.0 percent, but the Rams went 10-for-21 (47.6) from long range compared to the Flyers' 4-for-12 (33.3) three-point performance
• Rhode Island was led by Kuran Iverson with 14 points and 13 rebounds for the game's only double-double

UP NEXT
Dayton returns to the road next Wednesday for a mid-week match-up at Massachusetts. The Flyers and the Minutemen with tip off at 7 p.m. Jan. 11 in Amherst and the game will be broadcast on CBS SportsNetwork.