DAYTON -- The University of Dayton Flyers broke open a halftime tie and held Saint Joseph's at bay in the second half to defeat the Hawks 77-70 at UD Arena Tuesday night.
Dayton scored a triple in the first minute after halftime and never lost the lead. The Flyers led by as much as 14 in the final period, but SJU cut it to three (66-63) with 3:42 to go. UD's
Xeyrius Williams scored a reverse layup after a thread-the-needle assist from
Scoochie Smith and then Smith drilled his only three of the night to push the advantage back to eight, and the Flyers kept it a two-possession game after that.
Kendall Pollard led Dayton with 19 points (6-of-10 FG).
Charles Cooke added 16, Smith had 13 points along with eight assists, and Williams came off the bench for 11 points with seven rebounds.
Dayton, now 18-5 and 9-2 in the A-10, has won three straight and 11 of 13. St. Joe's, who was led by Lamarr Kimble's 25 points and 10 assists, falls to 10-13 and 3-8 in the conference.
FIRST HALF – Dayton 32, St. Joseph's 32
• Dayton struggled early from three-point range, shooting 1-of-8 from behind the arc in the first eight minutes of the game
• The Flyers then hit 4-of-6 from three-point range in the remaining 12 minutes.
•
Xeyrius Williams ignited the crowd with a three to tie the game followed by an explosive dunk to take the lead.
• The Hawks took their final lead of the game (18-16) on a Jai Williams layup at the 7:58 mark
• The Flyers scored seven points in a mere 1:21 thanks to strong defense forcing two turnovers that lead to fast break opportunities with fast breaks to take a 23-18 lead with 6:28 left in the half.
• SJU battled back to tie it at 29 with 37 seconds left, and then both teams hit threes in the finals seven seconds of the half to go to the break tied 32-32.
At the half, both teams not only had 32 points, they also both had 13 field goals, four three-pointers, and 18 rebounds.
•
Kendall Pollard and
Charles Cooke both led the Flyers at half with 10 points each.
• Dayton capitalized in transition with eight points on fast breaks compared to none for The Hawks.
SECOND HALF – Dayton 77, St. Joseph's 70
•
Darrell Davis came out hot with nine points and an assist in the first six minutes of the half.
• The Flyers made 7-of-10 field goals (.700) including 4-of-7 from three-point range in the first eight minutes of second half play to extend their lead to nine (53-44) with 12:02 to go.
• With 8:18 remaining in the half The Hawks began a 7-0 run to knock Dayton's lead down from seven points (60-53).
• After SJU made it a five-point game (75-70) with 1:11 left,
Kendall Pollard made a pair of three throws with 19 seconds to go to seal the win.
•
Scoochie Smith scored eleven of his 13 points in the second half.
BY THE NUMBERS
• 4 -- Flyers had double digit points.
• 19 --
Kendall Pollard led the Flyers with 19 points (6-10 FG, 7-9 FT).
• 16 --
Charles Cooke added 16 points (4-8 from beyond the arc)
• 13 & 8 --
Scoochie Smith had 13 points and a team-high eight assists.
• 11 & 7 --
Xeyrius Williams came off the bench for 11 points (4-5 FG) and seven rebounds.
• 8 –
Kyle Davis led the team with eight rebounds.
• 6 -- Six Flyers had at least five points in the game, and at least two rebounds.
• 37 – Rebounds for Dayton compared to 31 for The Hawks.
• 54.2 -- The Flyers shot 13-of-24 (54.2 percent) in the second half, leading to 45 second-half points.
• 83.3 -- The Flyers converted 15-of-18 free throws in the game.
UP NEXT
• Dayton goes back on the road to take on Rhode Island on Friday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. ET.
• After playing at Saint Louis on Valentine's Day, the Flyers are back home to face St. Bonaventure on Saturday, Feb. 18.
• Fans who attended Tuesday night's St. Joe's win can present their ticket stub for free admission for Wednesday night's Dayton-Richmond women's game that begins at 7 p.m. ET.
