DAYTON – The University of Dayton men's basketball team fell in overtime to Rhode Island on Tuesday night, 81-76, at UD Arena.
 
The Flyers (14-7, 5-3 A-10) dropped their third consecutive Atlantic 10 game, while the Rams (13-8, 4-4 A-10) pulled out their third straight victory.
 
Sophomore Bryce Heard led the Flyers with 15 points, his third consecutive game with 10+ points, while junior De'Shayne Montgomery and sophomore Amaël L'Etang trailed closely with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Senior Javon Bennett scored 11 points for his 12-straight double-digit scoring effort, while also dishing out seven assists, tying a career-high.
 
Dayton shot 51.2% (22-of-43) for the game, including 41.2% (7-of-17) from three, while Rhode Island was 43.4% (23-of-53) from the floor and 43.8% (7-of-16) from beyond the arc. The Flyers committed 23 turnovers, their second-most of the season, while only forcing 15 from the Rams.
 
GAME RECAP
 
1st Half – Dayton 39, Rhode Island 31

• Sophomore Amaël L'Etang escaped defensive pressure and put in a layup for the Flyers' first points.
• Junior De'Shayne Montgomery knocked down an open three off a behind-the-back pass from Keonte Jones to tie the score at 5-5. 
• Freshman Damon Friery gave UD a 9-8 lead with a three-pointer off a turnover at the 13:24 mark.
• Senior Jacob Conner threw down back-to-back dunks to give the Flyers a four-point lead, making the score 13-9. 
• Sophomore Bryce Heard contributed to the Flyer lead with another three-pointer.
• Redshirt sophomore Jaiun Simon made a reverse layup after another assist from Jones giving Dayton a 20-12 lead with 9:14 remaining in the half.
• Simon blew through the Rams' defense to make a layup to give Dayton a 14-point advantage with 7:31 to go.
• A pair of made free throws from L'Etang put UD ahead 28-13, its biggest lead of the game.
• An 8-2 run by Rhode Island brought the Rams right back into the game.
• After another pair of free throws from L'Etang stopped UD's scoreless stretch, the URI defense held the Flyers scoreless for nearly three minutes to make the score 34-30 with 2:15 to go.
• Heard went 2-for-2 at the charity stripe to push Dayton ahead by six, 36-30
• Heard doubled down and sank a corner three in the final minute of the half to enter double-digit scoring and make it a 39-30 game.

 
2nd Half– Dayton 64, Rhode Island 64

• Bennett drained a three-point shot to start off scoring for the Flyers in the second half.
• Montgomery made a layup to make the score Dayton 44, Rhode Island 37 at the 15:00 mark. 
• Dayton did not make a field goal until Jones met the rim with a reverse layup at the 9:42 mark, keeping the Flyers' lead at 49-44.
• Bennett fought under the basket and drew an and-one, putting UD ahead 52-44 with 8:47 remaining.
• Redshirt freshman Malcolm Thomas made a jumper for his first points of the game to give Dayton a 54-49 advantage with 7:13 to go. 
• A three-pointer and two baskets off turnovers in less than two minutes turned Dayton's five-point advantage into a two-point deficit, 56-54.
• Heard put UD back on top after converting an old-fashioned three-point play, making it 57-56.
• Four quick points from Rhode Island put the Rams right back in front, 60-57.
• Montgomery went two for two from the free-throw line to shorten the deficit to 60-59 with 2:20 remaining. 
• Jones made a driving layup with just 1:31 to go to make it a 62-61 game.
• URI went back up by three after a pair of free throws.
• After making one of two from the charity stripe, L'Etang made a crucial layup to tie the game at 64-64 with 0:08 on the clock.

 
Overtime– Rhode Island 81, Dayton 76

• L'Etang and Heard both went two-for-two from the free throw line. 
• Montgomery answered the Rams with a corner three-pointer to make it a 73-71 game. 
• After a Rams' put-back dunk and a pair of free throws, Simon drained a corner three with 0:18 remaining to make it a 77-74 game.
• Rhode Island sank all six of its free throws in overtime, including four in the final 10 seconds to put the game out of reach.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• 23 – turnovers for Dayton, its most in Atlantic 10 play and second-most this season
• 22 – points off turnovers converted for Rhode Island, the second-most for a UD opponent on the campaign
• 15 – points for sophomore Bryce Heard, leading the Flyers
• 19 – double-digit scoring games for both De'Shayne Montgomery (14) and Javon Bennett (11)
• 13 – points for Amaël L'Etang, his most since returning from injury on Jan. 16
• 7 – assists for Bennett, tying a career-high
• 7 – rebounds for senior Keonte Jones, tops for Dayton

 
UP NEXT
The Flyers head to Chaifetz Arena on Friday, Jan. 30 to take on No. 22-ranked Saint Louis Billikens at 8 p.m. ET.

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