DAYTON – The University of Dayton men's basketball team kept their winning streak alive by defeating Georgia Southern University at UD Arena on Saturday afternoon by a score of 94-90. The Flyers are now 8-5 overall this season, while the Eagles fall to 8-5 following the loss.
 
Josh Cunningham led Dayton with 25 points. Cunningham was joined by Obi Toppin (22 points), Jalen Crutcher (17 points) and Jordan Davis (13 points) in scoring double figures.

Saturday's game was a Dayton's third sellout of the season and wraps up the Flyers non-conference schedule. A-10 play begins against Richmond next Sunday, Jan. 6 at 12p.m. (ET) at UD Arena, which will welcome its 10 millionth fan through its gates during the game against the Spiders.

GAME BREAKDOWN

  1st Half: Dayton 47, Georgia Southern 34

• Josh Cunningham put Dayton on the board first with a jumper at the 18:38 minute mark.
• Shortly after, Georgia Southern's Quan Jackson put up a jumper, keeping the score tied at 2-2.
• The Flyers and Eagles traded baskets back-and-forth, including seven lead changes in the first five minutes, leading to Quan Jackson's shot in the paint that gave Georgia Southern a 12-11 lead at the 15:05 mark in the first half.
• A 9-1 scoring run, capped off by a bucket from David-Lee Jones Jr., gave Georgia Southern a 19-12 lead with 13:23 to play in the first half, its largest lead of the game.
• Georgia Southern held a 25-22 lead at the 8:35 mark, but the Flyers went on a 10-0 run to put Dayton back in the driver's seat for the first time since they led by a score of 11-10 with 15:27 in the half.
• Dayton maintained their lead until halftime and outscored Georgia Southern by a 15-6 margin, to stretch the lead to 47-34 heading into halftime.
• Cunningham had the most points of any player on either team, tallying 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field.
• Nine of UD's 14 total turnovers came in the first half (six of those in the first seven minutes of the game).

2nd Half: Dayton 94, Georgia Southern 90

• Trey Landers gave Dayton its biggest lead of the game at 52-36 with a jumper at the 16:58 mark of the second half.
• Jones Jr. nailed a 3-pointer for Georgia Southern to make the score 58-50 with 13:19 to play, bringing the Eagles back within double digits for the first time in the half.
• Dayton's lead fluctuated between five and nine points for the next several minutes, but Obi Toppin put the Flyers back up by a score of 76-66 with a layup at the 7:00 minute mark.
• Toppin's lay in was the eighth of 11 consecutive field goals made for the Flyers from the 14:10 mark until Cunningham missed a 3-pointer with 4:14 to play.
• Toppin also delivered a highlight, between-the-legs slam dunk with just over six minutes left in the game.
• Cunningham connected on a pair of free throws to give Dayton an 85-77 lead, but Georgia Southern answered with a 7-0 run, including a dunk from Simeon Carter that cut the lead to just one point at 85-84 with 2:43 remaining.
• Jordan Davis knocked down a clutch 3-pointer with just under 2:00 to go that put the Flyers up 90-86, but Tookie Brown came right back down with a bucket of his own for Georgia Southern that brought the deficit back down to two points for the Eagles.
• After a pair of empty possessions for both teams, Georgia Southern was forced to foul Jalen Crutcher, who was a perfect 4-for-4 from the line in the game's final 13 seconds to put the game on ice.
• Trey Landers came up big on the boards with in the final minute with Dayton leading by two.  He had an offensive rebound with 59 seconds left and then a defensive rebound with 22 seconds to go.
• Ryan Mikesell sealed the game by blocking Brown's layup attempt with under two seconds to go.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Josh Cunningham led Dayton with 25 points.
• Cunningham is now just 12 points away from 1,000 career points with 988 (260 at Bradley, 728 at Dayton).
• Cunningham was joined by Obi Toppin (22 points), Jordan Davis (13 points), and Jalen Crutcher (17 points) in scoring double figures.
• Landers led the team in rebounds with 10, while Crutcher led the team in assists with seven.
• Dayton outscored Georgia Southern by a 58-38 margin in the paint, but the Eagles were more dangerous on the perimeter Saturday, connecting on 12-26 (46%) beyond the arc, while the Flyers were 7-23 (30%) on 3-point attempts.
• Jalen Crutcher was a perfect 4-of-4 from the line for the game, all in the final 13 seconds, and the Flyers were 13-18 (72%) as a team in the game, while the Eagles shot just 8-14 (57%) from the line.
• Dayton is just 380 fans away from the 10 millionth member of the Flyer Faithful to attend a UD men's game at the Arena.

UP NEXT

• The Flyers begin Atlantic 10 Conference play against Richmond at home on Jan. 6 at noon.
• Dayton will then hit the road for its first away game of the new year on Jan. 9 at George Washington.