DAYTON – The University of Dayton men's basketball team used a 19-0 run in the second half to secure a 64-54 victory over UIC in the season opener at UD Arena on Tuesday night. Sophomore Toumani Camara led the Flyers with 15 points and 10 rebounds in his Dayton debut.

Camara was followed in double-digits by freshman Kobe Elvis who had 10 points and seven rebounds. Newcomers Camara, Elvis, freshman Daron Holmes II, and freshman Malachi Smith all made their debuts for Dayton today.

GAME BREAKDOWN

1st Half: UIC 32, Dayton 25

• Dayton's defense started the game off strong, holding UIC to just 2-13 shooting for five points in the first eight minutes.
• Five different Flyers contributed to a 10-0 scoring run to put UD up 14-5.
• A three-pointer by redshirt freshman R.J. Blakney extended the Flyers lead to eight (19-11) with 9:06 remaining in the half.
• UIC regained the lead with 3:45 remaining in the half on an 11-0 run. The Flyers finished the first half making just one of their last nine shots.
• All five starters for Dayton scored in the half, and 7 of the 9 Flyers who entered the game scored.
• UIC hit two three-pointers in the last minute to extend the lead to seven heading into halftime.
• The Flames closed the half on a 19-2 run.

2nd Half: Dayton 64, UIC 54

• Dayton started the second half with an 8-2 burst to cut the lead to within one with 15:31 remaining.
• The Flames answered with two threes and a 10-3 run to extend their lead to 44-35.
• The Flyers answered right back with another run of their own (15-2 this time) to take a 50-46 lead with 7:08 remaining, forcing a Flames timeout. The run included baskets from six different Flyers.
• UD continued to expand its lead to 10 with four minutes left off back-to-back baskets by Camara and redshirt junior Elijah Weaver.
• UIC was held scoreless for a 6:53 stretch during the half, and scored just eight points in the final 10:44.
• A dunk by Camara in the final minute extended the lead to 10 and secured the victory for Dayton.
• Dayton shot 12-15 (80%) on free throws in the 2nd half.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• In addition to the double figure scorers, R.J. Blakney scored nine points on three-for-four shooting, and was a remarkable +26 in the +/- rating. DaRon Holmes II had nine points and was +17.  Elijah Weaver had eight and was +11.
• UD had 11 assists, with five players getting two apiece.
• Dayton outrebounded UIC 41-27.
• The Flyers also won the battle inside the paint, outscoring the Flames 44-16.
• Eight of the nine Flyers who saw minutes scored, and seven scored five or more points.
• Dayton had twice as many offensive rebounds as the Flames, resulting in 17 second chance points.
• The Flyers bench outscored the Flames bench 15-4.
• Turnovers were basically even (10-9) but UD held the advantage in points off turnovers 12-3.

UP NEXT

• Dayton will face UMass-Lowell on Saturday, Nov. 13 at UD Arena.
• Tip-off is at 6:00 p.m. ET.
• Saturday's game will be exclusively on ESPN+.

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