Men's Basketball Wins 20th Straight Season Opener, 87-57 Over Saint Francis

Enoch Cheeks Leads Flyers With Double-Double

Box Score DAYTON – The University of Dayton men's basketball team started off the 2024-25 campaign with an impressive win over Saint Francis 87-57 on Monday night. Zed Key led five Flyers in double figures with 14 points. Enoch Cheeks had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Javon Bennett also had 13 points, followed by Malachi Smith 's 11 points and Jacob Conner with 10.

The Flyers struggled shooting in the first half but were able to fix that in the second half shooting 54% compared to their 36% in the first half. Their second-half performance kept them in gear to secure a 30-point victory. This marks the Flyers 20th consecutive season opening win.

GAME RECAP
First Half – Dayton 40, Saint Francis 28

Senior Enoch Cheeks got the Flyers' first bucket with a three-pointer off an assist from senior Nate Santos, putting the Flyers up 3-0 at the 19:44 mark.
After missing his first two attempts, junior Javon Bennett knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to keep the Flyers rolling, 12-5 at the 15:42 mark.
Graduate student Zed Key got himself going by sinking a pair of free throws to maintain the Flyers' lead, 14-5 at the 14:28 mark.
Santos scored his first bucket with a backdoor cut into the lane off a nice assist from freshman Amaël l L'Etang at the 12:39 mark which kept the Flyers ahead, 16-8.
Freshman Hamad Mousa got his first collegiate points as a Dayton Flyer with 11:47 to go in the half, bringing Dayton's lead to 18-10.
Junior, Jacob Conner also secured his first basket as a Flyer with a smooth corner three-pointer off an assist from L'Etang to keep UD in front, 23-13 at the 10:53 mark.
Saint Francis went on a 7-0 run following three Flyer turnovers to cut the lead to three (23-20) at the 8-minute mark.
Redshirt junior Malachi Smith got his first basket since returning from injury to keep Dayton ahead, 26-20 at the 7:26 mark.
Redshirt senior Posh Alexander scored his first points as a Flyer with a layup, which extended Dayton's lead to 30-20 with 6:14 left in the half.
After forcing multiple Red Flash turnovers, Cheeks threw down a pair of dunks, including an alley-oop, to keep things rolling, 34-22.
Despite ongoing shooting struggles, Alexander secured an and-one opportunity off a missed three by Santos to keep the Flyers ahead.
After forcing a Red Flash turnover, Key went coast-to-coast with a slam just before halftime, making the score 40-28 at the break.

Second Half – Dayton 87, Saint Francis 57

With 18:37 remaining, the Flyers scored their first points of the second half with a put back layup from Key.
On the following possession, Cheeks hit a mid-range shot to expand Dayton's lead to 14 (44-30).
After a steal by Smith, Bennett scored his first points of the second half with a fast-break layup, putting the Flyers ahead 46-30 at the 17:24 mark.
L'Etang scored his first points as a Dayton Flyer on a second-chance rebound, and extended the lead to 50-30 at the 16:07 mark.
Smith scored his second basket of the game at the 15:24 mark, driving down the lane for a layup to push the Flyers ahead 52-32.
Key scored back-to-back buckets, throwing down two powerful dunks off assists from Alexander and then Smith, which put Dayton up 58-36.
At the 13-minute mark, Cheeks grabbed his tenth rebound of the night, securing his first double-double of the season.
Alexander hit a clean mid-range jumper to give UD a 60-38 lead with 12:56 left in the half.
Dayton continued its big night in second-chance scoring as Conner capitalized on an and-one three-pointer, and gave the Flyers a 63-38 lead at the 11:51 mark.
Conner continued his hot streak, hitting another big three-pointer off an assist from Alexander, and extended the Flyers' lead to 29.
L'Etang scored a strong layup off another offensive rebound to give Dayton a 71-47 advantage with 8:50 left.
UD forced Saint Francis into a timeout after a fast-break layup by Smith.
Bennett hit his third three-pointer of the night, giving Dayton a 76-49 lead with 7:09 left on the clock.
Smith secured a smooth euro-step layup on a fast break to keep the Flyers ahead 78-49 with 6:48 remaining in the second half.
Smith was able to strike again with a long pull-up three-pointer and extended the lead to 30 points with 5:56 left in the second half.
Redshirt freshman Jaiun Simon scored his first points of the evening on a strong second-chance layup to put Dayton up by 30 points.
Atticus Schuler, a junior, scored the Flyers final bucket of the nigh and secured a 30-point win.

BY THE NUMBERS

13:10 - Enoch Cheeks secured his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds
15 - Dayton dominated on the boards all night as they grabbed 15 offensive rebounds and out-rebounded Saint Francis by 19.
21 - The Flyers continually got out into the break as they scored 21 transition points.
5 - Dayton had 5 players score in double figures. Javon Bennett (13), Enoch Cheeks (13), Zed Key (14), Malachi Smith (11), and Jacob Conner (10).
13 - On the defensive end Dayton was able to force Saint Francis into 13 turnovers.
19 - The Flyers assisted on 19 buckets. Smith led the way with six followed by Alexander with five.
11 - Number of different Flyers who scored.
20 - Tonight marked Dayton's 20th straight home opener victory.
5 - Amaël L'Etang grabbed five of his eight rebounds off of the offensive glass.
20 - UD had 20 assists on 31 made baskets. Smith led with six (with zero turnovers), and Posh Alexander had five.
3 - Smith led UD with three steals, and Key led with three blocks.
32 - Nate Santos was +32 in the win. Santos had four points, eight rebounds, three assists and a steal.