SAINT LOUIS – The University of Dayton men's basketball team came up short against No. 21 Saint Louis on Friday night, falling 102-71 to the Billikens at Chaifetz Arena.
 
The Flyers (14-8, 5-4 A-10) have dropped four in a row while the Billikens (21-1, 9-0 A-10) remain undefeated in league play on the season.
 
Junior De'Shayne Montgomery registered his sixth 20+ scoring effort of the season, finishing the game with 23 to lead the Flyers. Sophomore Amael L'Etang had 12 points and a game-high six rebounds, while redshirt freshman Malcolm Thomas finished the game with 11 points.
 
Saint Louis shot an eye-popping 62.5% (35-of-56), including 60.7% (17-of-28) from beyond the arc. Dayton shot 45.5% (25-of-55) overall and 35.5% (7-of-20) from beyond the arc. The Flyers committed 15 turnovers and the Billikens turned them into 21 points.
 
GAME RECAP
1st Half – Saint Louis 46, Dayton 29

• After SLU scored the first eight points of the game, junior De'Shayne Montgomery got Dayton on the board with a triple.
• Senior Javon Bennett sliced through the defense and connected on a floater to make it an 11-5 game.
• Back-to-back baskets by redshirt sophomore Jaiun Simon brought the Flyers back within six at 15-9 with 13:40 to go.
• A basket from senior Jordan Derkack at the 12:23 mark halved the deficit to 22-11.
• Saint Louis responded with a 7-0 run over the next 40 seconds to make it a 27-11
• Redshirt freshman Malcolm Thomas scored three-straight points thanks to a free throw and a basket, making it a 29-14 game with 10:46 to go.
• Sophomore Amaël L'Etang got in on the action with a pair of free throws, cutting the deficit to 32-16.
• Montgomery converted on a beautiful feed from Bennett to make the score 32-18 with 8:44 to go.
• A 10-0 run over 4:00 by the Billikens pushed the game to a 42-18 score with 4:02 to go in the half.
• Sophomore Bryce Heard finished an alley-oop layup off a feed from Montgomery to make it a 44-24 game.
• Five straight points from Bennett ended the scoring for the half for Dayton, bringing the score to its halftime total of 46-29.

 
2nd Half– Saint Louis 102, Dayton 71

• L'Etang got the Flyers on the board on their first possession of the second half with a layup, making it a 46-31 deficit.
• L'Etang made a pair of free throws and Montgomery converted a fancy finish to bring UD to a 51-37 score.
• A strong finish from L'Etang forced SLU to take a timeout with the lead cut to 51-39 with 17:25 in the game.
• Heard made a layup to get Dayton back within 10 at 51-41, but it was all Saint Louis for the final 16:22.
• SLU jumped out in front thanks to a 20-9 run that spanned six minutes, lurching ahead 76-50.
• The Flyers could not stop the onslaught, as the Billikens pushed their lead to as many as 35 over the final nine minutes.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• 3 – total Dayton players to transfer into UD and score 1,000 career points in a Flyer uniform, with senior Javon Bennett joining Jordan Sibert and Dave Colbert after scoring nine tonight.
• 23 – points for De'Shayne Montgomery, leading the Flyers and giving him his sixth 20+ scoring effort of the season.
•  87.5 – free throw percentage for the Flyers after making 14 of 16 attempts.
• 15 – turnovers in the game for Dayton, its third consecutive game with 15+ turnovers.
• 12 – points for Amaël L'Etang, his second consecutive double-digit scoring output
• 11 – points for Malcolm Thomas, his second 10+ scoring performance in four Atlantic 10 games.
• 5 – assists for Bennett, his third 5+ assist performance in the last four games.

 
UP NEXT
Dayton returns to The Epicenter of College Basketball, UD Arena, to take on St. Bonaventure University on Tuesday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.

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