DAYTON – The University of Dayton men's basketball team (5-2, 1-1 A-10) came from behind to earn its first Atlantic 10 Conference victory with a 74-65 win over George Mason (5-3, 1-1 A-10) Saturday evening at UD Arena.

Senior Jalen Crutcher scored a game- and career-high 26 points and added a game-high seven assists. Redshirt senior Ibi Watson added 16 points and five rebounds. Freshman Mustapha Amzil contributed 15 points, a team-high six rebounds, and four assists. Redshirt freshman Zimi Nwokeji registered his first points and rebounds as a Flyer, notching seven points to go along with a team-high six rebounds.
 
The Flyers led at the half but George Mason snuck back and took the lead at the 12:39 mark of the second half. In a game that saw six ties and eight lead changes, UD finally took over the lead for good at the 2:16 mark on a Watson layup on the assist from Crutcher that put the Flyers up 65-63.

Dayton had just seven scholarship players available due to injuries to R.J. Blakney, Rodney Chatman and Elijah Weaver.  UD played three seniors and four freshmen in the game.  

GAME BREAKDOWN
1^st half: Dayton 38, George Mason 29

• Dayton shot 63 percent (15-of-24) in the first half, including 58 percent (7-of-12) from three-point range.
• There were two ties and two lead changes in the first 6:30 of the half, however the Flyers only trailed for 20 of those seconds.
• UD used an 8-0 run over 2:30 with the help of back-to-back Watson treys to give UD an 18-10 lead with 10:13 to play in the half. That was part of a 17-2 run over 6:12 to give the Flyers a 27-12 lead at 5:55. This stretch included a four-minute scoring drought and six GMU turnovers.
• The Flyers led by as many as 18 in the first half. With 4:23 left in the half, Amzil hit a three to give UD a 32-14 advantage.
• Crutcher led all scorers at the half with 14 points. He was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field, including 2-of-2 from behind the arc. He also had three assists and three rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.
• Amzil added 10 points, while Watson had nine points and four rebounds in the first half.

2^nd half: Dayton 74, George Mason 65

• After a Crutcher layup on UD's first possession of the second half, the Patriots answered with a 13-0 run to take a 42-41 lead at the 16:29 mark. During that stretch the Flyers went 0-for-5 while the Patriots were 5-of-5 from the field.
• Nwokeji hit a three at 15:10 to tie the game at 44-44 and end the GMU run.
• At the 4:22 mark, a three-pointer by Amzil from Crutcher gave UD a 61-59 lead, allowing the Flyers to regain it for the first time since the 12:39 mark of the second half.
• Crutcher scored two on a driving layup as the shot clock was expiring to give the Flyers a 67-63 lead with 1:23 remaining in regulation.
• Watson had a dunk, with the assist coming from Nwokeji, with 39 seconds left in the game that gave UD a 69-65 lead. On the next George Mason possession, Amzil came up with a steal.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

•  26 – Crutcher scored a career-high 26 points.
•  54 – The Flyers shot 54 percent (27-of-50) from the field in the game, including 48 percent (12-of-25) from three. The Patriots shot 46 percent (24-of-52) overall and 43 percent (10-of-23) from three-point range.
• 30 – UD outrebounded GMU 30-25. Every Flyer who saw action in the game had at least two rebounds.
•  25 – Zimi Nwokeji played 25 minutes in the game, after playing just 19 in four games coming into the game.  The redshirt freshman was a team-high +18 in the +/- efficiency rating.
•  12 – The Flyers outscored the Patriots 12-4 on fastbreak points.
• 12 – Dayton had 12 turnovers, the lowest for UD this season.
•  1 – Freshman Koby Brea earned his first career start.

UP NEXT

• Dayton will be on the road for a 6 p.m. ET tipoff at Fordham on Tuesday, Jan. 5 in A-10 action.
• The game will be available on ESPN+ and WHIO Radio.