DAYTON – The University of Dayton men's basketball team cruised to a resounding victory at home while donning their signature Chapel Blue uniforms on Tuesday night, taking down Florida State by a score of 97-69 inside UD Arena.
 
The Flyers (9-3) shot 40-of-47 (.851) from the free-throw line to set the record for most free throws made by any team in UD Arena History against a physical Seminoles (5-6) team to earn the decisive win.
 
Senior Javon Bennett led the way with 25 points for the Flyers, 12 of which came at the charity stripe. Junior De'Shayne Montgomery also put up a 20-point performance, shooting 7-of-10 from the field and adding four steals. Four other Flyers scored in double figures as Jordan Derkack scored 13, Keonte Jones tallied 11, and Amaël L'Etang and Malcolm Thomas each scored 10 points.
 
The Flyer defense was once again a highlight as they forced 20 turnovers, including six blocks and 11 steals, while holding Florida State to shooting .362 from the field.

GAME RECAP
First Half – Dayton 42, Florida State 31

• De'Shayne Montgomery got the Flyers on the board first early with a fast-break layup off an assist from Keonte Jones.
• After a Florida State three, Jones knocked down a shot from the top of the key to put UD back in front 5-3.
• After being fouled on a three-point attempt, Montgomery converted all three attempts from the stripe, pushing the Dayton lead to 8-3 with 17:29 on the clock.
• The defense continued to prove itself strong as the Flyers forced two turnovers on the next two possessions, courtesy of a high-flying Jones block and a Jordan Derkack steal in transition.
• Malcolm Thomas came into the game and quickly continued his hot stretch of play as he hit a triple from the top of the key, the second made three-pointer of his career.
• Jordan Derkack then continued the hot start for the Flyers with a corner three, the third Dayton three of the game on just three attempts,  to push the lead to 14-7 with 13:13 remaining.
• Jones then grabbed a rebound off a missed Florida State three and threw an outlet pass to a running Thomas, who threw down a dunk to give Dayton a 16-8 lead at the under-12 timeout.
• Amaël L'Etang found Jones cutting to the basket, who converted a layup at the rim to put the lead back at eight, 18-10.
• The Flyers' lead eclipsed double-digits after two free throws from L'Etang off a flagrant foul made the score 20-10 with 9:07 left in the half.
• Montgomery caught back-to-back lobs on two straight fast-breaks to make the Flyer lead 28-12 as Florida State took a timeout with 7:55 left in the half.
• A 9-0 run from Florida State saw them get back within single digits at 31-21, but Thomas hit a free throw with four minutes left to get the Flyers up by 10.
• Montgomery recorded his 12th consecutive game with double-digit points as he finished off a drive to the hoop with a contested layup. On the very next possession, he knocked down a three, which made the Flyer lead 36-26 with 2:35 left in the half.
• After a Florida State basket, Derklack converted a tough layup after grabbing his own miss to push the lead back to nine at 40-31 with just one minute left in the half.
• Montgomery led the Flyers with 16 points in the first half. As a team, UD made 16 of 17 free throw attempts, taking an 11-point lead into the break.

Second Half – Dayton 97, Florida State 69

• Florida State opened the scoring in the second half with a three, although two Javon Bennett free throws moved the lead back up to 10.
• After a basket in response from the Seminoles, Jones found L'Etang open in the post for a slam.
• Bennett knocked down a three off of an assist from Derkack, giving UD their largest lead of the half at 53-38 with 16:57 left in the game.
• Out of the under-16 timeout, Bryce Heard got himself into the scoring column with a putback layup to stretch the lead back to 15 with just over 15 minutes left in the game.
• Thomas caught a fast break lob from Bennett and finished off an emphatic flush, pushing the lead to 16 at the 15-minute mark.
• Four unanswered points from Florida State threatened to turn into a run until Bennett knocked down a triple to get himself in double digits, and Montgomery converted a layup in transition to get the lead back to 17 at 62-45.
• Bennett then hit his second consecutive three, giving him 13 points just in the second half, to give the Flyers their largest lead of the night at 65-45.
• After a Florida State timeout, Montgomery found Thomas for an emphatic dunk that got him his tenth point of the game.
• Florida State finally responded to the run with a bucket of its own, but Heard converted a tough, contested layup to make the lead 71-49 with 10:30 left to play.
• Jones kept the lead steady when he got up high to block a would-be Seminole layup off the backboard with nine minutes remaining.
• L'Etang hit a pair of free throws, tying the Flyers' season-high of 28 makes from the charity stripe, to make the lead 77-55 with 8:07 left to play.
• Montgomery grabbed a steal and then threw down a windmill reverse slam on the other end as he eclipsed 20 points on the night, and the UD lead grew to 81-57 with 6:30 on the clock.
• After 15 straight points combined coming via free throws, Bennett and Jones both scored layups, pushing the Flyers to 95 points on the night.
• Damon Friery then hit a floater from the key, the first field goal of his collegiate career.
• UD ended with 55 points in the second half as they coasted to the 28-point victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• 6- Dayton had six players scoring in double-figures on the night. Two Flyers, Javon Bennett and De'Shayne Montgomery, eclipsed 20 points.
• 12- Bennett was perfect from the free-throw line on 12 attempts, a career high in made field goals for him.
• 25- Bennett tallied 25 points on the night. His fourth game this season and eighth of his career with at least 20 points.
• 20- The Flyers have now forced double-digit turnovers in every game this season. This is their 5th performance forcing at least 20 turnovers.
• 29- Dayton grabbed 29 rebounds on the defensive glass, tying their season high, which was set just last game.
• 40- UD made the most free throws in a single game for Dayton since at least the 2004-05 season, and the most by any team in UD Arena ever.

 
UP NEXT
The Flyers will be back in action on Saturday, Dec. 20, when they host Liberty at The Epicenter of College Basketball, UD Arena. The game will tip off at 12:30 p.m.

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