SAINT LOUIS - The University of Dayton men's basketball team used a well-balanced attack and strong defense to take down Saint Louis in Atlantic 10 action on the road Friday night by a 71-63 final at Chaifetz Arena.

The Flyers' held a slim five-point advantage with just over a minute remaining, but clutch free throws down the stretch by senior Enoch Cheeks and redshirt senior Posh Alexander iced the game to help UD hand SLU their first home loss of the 2024-25 campaign.

Dayton had four players in double-figure scoring, with junior Javon Bennett leading the way with 19.  Cheeks finished the night with 14 points while fellow senior Nate Santos added 13. Alexander tacked on 10 points on the night, connecting on three clutch free throws in the final 30 seconds of play.
 

First Half – Dayton 37, Saint Louis 25

• Nate Santos drilled a three to get UD its first bucket of the game at the 17:35 mark.
• The two sides battled back and forth over the next five minutes of action when Dayton connected on 10 consecutive shot attempts from 12:51 to 6:34.
• UD's 23-9 run included three three-pointers from Javon Bennett, four buckets from Enoch Cheeks, and a bucket each for Nate Santos and Posh Alexander.
• The Flyers expanded their lead to the largest of the game at 17 when Jacob Conner dialed in a triple at the 4:50.
• Dayton maintained its double-digit lead after a 6-0 run from Saint Louis thanks to a jumper from Alexander and a made free throw from Amaël L'Etang.

Second Half – Dayton 71, Saint Louis 63

• Bennett hit the first shot of the second half for the Flyers at the 16:49 mark.
• SLU cut the lead to single digits when Bennett converted an old-fashioned three-point play to put UD ahead 47-35.
• A Santos layup at 12:55 sparked a 6-0 run for Dayton.
• Redshirt senior Zed Key finished a dunk and Cheeks drilled a three to push the Flyers' lead back to 14 with 12:01 to go.
• The Billikens cut the lead to just two thanks to a 10-0 run.
• Bennett stopped the run with a bucket at the 6:35 mark.
• Santos pushed Dayton's lead back to seven, 59-52, at the 5:39 mark.
• SLU hit a triple to cut the deficit to four when L'Etang drilled a triple at 3:38 to put UD back ahead, 62-55.
• Though Saint Louis threatened down the stretch, clutch free throw shooting from Alexander, Cheeks, and L'Etang gave Dayton the 71-63 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• 19 - turnovers forced by the Flyers, tying a season-high.
• 23 - points off turnovers for UD, compared to just seven for SLU.
• 19 - points for Javon Bennett, his 10th double-digit performance this season as well as a season-best.
• 8 - rebounds for L'Etang, leading all players in the game
• 4 - Flyers with multiple steals in the contest, led by Cheeks and Malachi Smith.
• 12 - made free throws for Dayton in the game.

UP NEXT

• The Flyers return to the UD Arena with a Tuesday night Atlantic 10 bout with Davidson.
• Game time is 7 p.m. ET.