KINGSTON, R.I. – Trailing by as many as 10 in the first half, the University of Dayton men's basketball team stormed back to take down Rhode Island on Wednesday night, topping the Rams 85-77 in Atlantic 10 action from the Ryan Center.
 
The Flyers were looking at a 10-point deficit near the midway point of the first half when they put the clamps down on defense, holding URI without a field goal for 8:13 and turning a 10-point deficit into a one-point advantage.
 
Dayton followed a similar script in the second half, turning a one-point lead into 20 thanks to a 28-10 run over 7:57 to start the second period. The Flyers held on down the stretch, connecting on 6-of-6 free throws in the final 3:32 to seal the game.
 
Senior Nate Santos led four Flyers in double-figures with 19 points thanks to five made three-pointers in the contest. Fellow senior Enoch Cheeks and redshirt junior Malachi Smith both scored 15, while junior Javon Bennett finished the night with 11.
 
First Half – Dayton 33, Rhode Island 30

• Freshman Amaël L'Etang scored the Flyers' first points of the night when he buried a three to give UD a 3-2 lead.
• Senior Nate Santos drilled his first of five three-pointers on the night at the 17:59 mark to give UD a three-point lead.
• Rhode Island responded with a 10-2 run over the next 3:08 to take a 17-10 lead.
• A layup by Posh Alexander and a three-pointer from Enoch Cheeks brought the Flyers back within two at 13:48.
• An 8-0 URI run put UD behind by double-digits, 25-15.
• The Flyers responded with a 12-0 run of their own, getting contributions from Javon Bennett, Malachi Smith, Cheeks, Santos and Alexander to make the score 27-24.
• Graduate student Zed Key got in on the action with a dunk at 2:41 to put UD ahead 31-28.
• Smith's layup at 2:12 gave UD a five-point advantage before a URI layup brought the game to its halftime score.

Second Half – Dayton 85, Rhode Island 77

• L'Etang one again got the scoring started for the Flyers, converting two free throws to give Dayton a 35-32 advantage.
• Five straight points for Smith gave Dayton a 40-34 lead.
• Bennett pushed UD's lead to double-digits with five consecutive points of his own, putting the Flyers up 45-34.
• After a pair of free throws by the Rams, Santos pushed the lead right back to 11 with another triple.
• Four straight points from Key and a three-ball from junior Jacob Conner gave Dayton a 55-39 lead.
• UD's lead swelled to 20 after an and-one layup and free throw combination from Cheeks.
• Rhode Island chipped away at the lead and closed it to just six with a pair of free throws at 5:16 to go.
• The Flyers countered every punch from the Rams, with a pair of threes from Santos providing the cushion down the stretch.
• Santos (4) and Smith (2) converted on all six of free throw attempts in the final 3:32 of play.
• L'Etang put the exclamation point on the contest with a slam with just 15 seconds remaining.

 INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• 26 – points off turnovers for the Flyers in the contest.
• 21 – made free-throws for Dayton, the ninth time this season UD has made 20+ from the charity stripe.
• 20 – bench points for the Flyers.
• 15 – points for Rhode Island native Enoch Cheeks.
• 10 – turnovers forced by the Flyers.
• 19 – points for Nate Santos, leading UD.
• 3 – games this season Nate Santos had made five-or-more three-pointers.
• 2 – three-pointers made by Rhode Island in the contest, shooting just 11 percent.

UP NEXT

• The Flyers return home to UD Arena to take on Richmond on Saturday.
• Saturday's game is Senior Day.
• Tipoff is at 2 p.m. ET and can be seen on CBS Sports Network.