University of Dayton Athletics

DAYTON – The University of Dayton men's basketball team fell behind early and could not overcome an 18-point halftime deficit, falling to the University of Cincinnati 95-72 at UD Arena on Saturday night.

Junior Amaël L'Etang led the Flyers with 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Sophomore Tristian Ford and freshman Aiden Derkack both finished the game with double figures, scoring 15 and 10, respectively.

UC built a halftime lead of 52-34 thanks in large part to blistering shooting from behind the three-point line, shooting 9-of-17 for 52.9%. UD cut the lead to just eight points with 12:29 to go, but a quick 7-0 run by the Bearcats made sure the Flyers got no closer the rest of the way.

GAME RECAP
First Half – Cincinnati 52, Dayton 34

• Junior Malcolm Thomas stepped up to the line, going 2-for-2, putting up the first points for the Flyers, with 17:25 on the clock, for a 5-2 score.
• Thomas brought the heat, scoring two more for the Flyers, with an 8-4 score at 16:56.
• Junior Amaël L'Etang slammed in a dunk for the Flyers, trailing 18-7 with 13:42 left in the half.
• Freshman Aiden Derkack eased his way into the paint for a layup at 12:24, advancing the score to 21-9. 
• After finding an open lane, Thomas drilled a layup from right under the basket, making the score 24-11 with 11:43 left in the half. 
• Off an offensive rebound by L'Etang, junior Grant Randall found the rim for a three-pointer, shortly followed by a free throw, with 11:08 left in the half, putting the Flyers within 10, 24-15.
• With just under 10 minutes at the half, L'Etang found the basket for a layup, completing the three-point play for a 26-18 score.
• Randall rim-rattled a dunk at 9:04 to put the game back within 10 points at 30-20.
• L'Etang came back to the basket with another second-chance layup for the Flyers with 8:20 left in the half for a 33-22 score.
• Sophomore Tristian Ford took advantage of the fast break, banking a layup with 8:08 on the clock at 33-24.
• Off a steal by L'Etang, Thomas knocked down a dunk for a 39-28 score with just over six minutes left in the stanza.
• With just seconds left on the shot clock and a little more than two minutes to go in the half, Ford sank a three, closing the gap to 47-32.
• Derkack drove to the paint for a layup, bringing the game to 49-34 and scoring Dayton's final basket of the first. 

 
Second Half – Cincinnati 95, Dayton 72

• L'Etang scored the first points of the half with a three-pointer at 19:43, advancing the score to 52-37. 
• Derkack made a layup to make it 54-39 with 18:28 left to play. 
• L'Etang made a three-point jumper at 17:43, closing the gap to 54-42. 
• Off an opponent turnover, Derkack banked another layup for a 57-46 score at 16:02.
• Ford finished strong at the rim with a layup at 13:34, elevating the score to 61-48. 
• Derkack seized the opportunity from a turnover at 13:01, going 2-for-2, bringing the score to 61-50.
• Washington made a three-point jumper off a turnover at 12:29, which brought the score up to 61-53. 
• Ford went 2-for-2 again at 11:05, making it an 11-point difference at 68-57.
• L'Etang made another appearance at the three-point line at 9:49, improving the score to 70-59.
• L'Etang drew a foul, sinking both free throws at 08:44, which brought the score to 73-61.
• L'Etang went 2-for-2, keeping the Flyers in the mix, down 82-63 with 6:31 left in the half. 
• Freshman Cody Peck brought in his first points this season, going 2-for-2 at the stripe with 4:32 to make it an 88-65 game. 
• Ford made a layup at 4:02, increasing the score to 88-67.  
• Senior Jaiun Simon put up a 1-for-2 performance at the line for his first point of the game, raising the score to 90-68, with just under three minutes left in the game.
• Sophomore Damon Friery connected on a step-back three, pushing the score to 95-71 with 1:43 on the clock. 
• Friery shot 1-for-2 at the free-throw line at :49 to make the final score 95-72. 

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
19 - Points scored by Amaël L'Etang, the most for Dayton
17 - Points off of turnovers by the Flyers
32 - Points in the paint for Dayton
7 -  Rebounds by L'Etang, leading the Flyers
5 - Minutes played by Cody Peck, setting a new career high
29 - Minutes played by Grant Randall, the most off the bench for Dayton
 
UP NEXT
The Flyers host Central Michigan at the Epicenter of College Basketball, UD Arena, on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. Fans can tune in on Spectrum News 1 and ESPN+.
 

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