Men's Basketball 10/26/2024 8:40:00 PM

Men's Basketball Earns Exhibition Victory Against Ashland

Nate Santos Leads UD With 20 Points

DAYTON – The University of Dayton men's basketball team finished off its preseason schedule with a 65-56 win against Ashland.

The Flyers started out in front and held a 13-point lead going into halftime. Ashland refused to go down without a fight, however, cutting the Flyer lead down to as little as eight. The Flyers would prevail, however, powered by 20 points from Nate Santos on six threes to earn a hard-fought victory.

GAME RECAP
First Half – Dayton 40, Ashland 27

Nate Santos got the scoring started for the Flyers by hitting a corner three that bounced around the rim before dropping in on the first possession of the contest.
After Ashland tied the game at three, Malachi Smith put down a floater to push UD in front. On the other end, Zed Key grabbed a steal which he took to the tin for an emphatic slam.
Key threw down another slam from the low post off of an assist from Smith to give the Flyers a 9-7 lead at the under-16 timeout.
Posh Alexander checked into the game and quickly swiped the ball for a steal, which he took to the other end for a layup.
Amaël L'Etang grabbed his first bucket of the game off of a contested three to push the Dayton lead to 16-9 with 13 minutes left in the half.
Freshman Hamad Mousa banked in a three to get himself on the board and push the Flyer lead to nine with just under 12 minutes left to play.
Alexander intercepted a pass for his second steal of the game and managed to draw a foul on the ensuing fast break. He would make both free throws coming out of the under-12 timeout to give the Flyers a 21-13 lead.
Santos drained a three off of an assist from Malachi Smith to push the lead to 24-13 at the 9:19 mark, the first double-digit advantage of the game for either team.
At the 7:35 mark, Isaac Jack finished off a nice assist from Enoch Cheeks with a dunk. Dayton held a 26-15 lead at the under-8 timeout.
Out of the timeout, UD held a long possession that featured multiple offensive rebounds until Santos knocked down his third triple of the game to finish it off.
After an Ashland three on the other end, it was Cheeks knocking down a three for his first points of the game off of Smith's third assist of the contest.
Smith continued his aggressive play on the defensive end as he ripped the ball away from the Eagles and finished the possession off with a steal to extend the lead to 36-21 with 3:35 left in the half.
Following a three from the Eagles, Santos drained yet another three, his fourth of the half, to push the lead back to 15 with 1:51 left to play.

Second Half – Dayton 65, Ashland 56

Despite Ashland scoring first in the second half, a made free throw followed by a three from Smith saw the Flyers jump out to a 44-29 lead at the 16:44 mark.
Santos then knocked down the second consecutive Flyer three, his fifth of the night.
Yet another Santos three pushed the lead to 50-33 with 15:10 remaining.
Mousa put down his first bucket of the half with an impressive mid-range fadeaway to bring UD's lead back to 15 at 52-37 going into the under-12 timeout.
L'Etang finished off a drive to the rim on the next possession with a layup to increase the lead to 17.
Despite Ashland going on a 7-0 run following the Flyer bucket and cutting UD's lead down to 10, Isaac Jack proved himself to be a force for good on the defensive end, recording his second block of the game on an attempted dunk by the Eagles to preserve the double-digit lead.
Smith finished a layup through contact on the other end to push the Flyer lead to 56-44 with 6:42 left to play.
At the 3:46 mark, Santos finished a layup through a foul as he eclipsed the 20-point mark. He missed the and-1 opportunity but Enoch Cheeks was in position for the offensive rebound and he put it right back up for an additional two to extend the lead to 62-48.
After a pair of Eagle threes cut the lead to eight, Key finished off an offensive rebound to put the Flyers back up by 10 at 64-54 with 1:35 to play.

BY THE NUMBERS

3- Javon Bennett and Posh Alexander led the Flyers in steals, recording three apiece.
4- Malachi Smith led the team with four assists on the night.
6- Nate Santos made six threes in the game on eight attempts on his way to a team-leading 20 points.
10- The Flyer defense grabbed 10 steals. Six different Flyers recorded at least one steal.
11- Santos led UD in +/-. Close behind were Bennett (8), Amaël L'Etang (7) and Hamad Mousa (6).
12- Smith joined Santos in double figures with 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting.
15- Every active player on the roster saw the floor during the game.