RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Dayton men's basketball team struggled out of the gate and never recovered, falling 99-73 to VCU on Friday night at the Siegel Center.
 
The Flyers (15-9, 6-5 A-10), playing without second-leading scorer De'Shayne Montgomery, gave up 50 points in the first half and the deficit was too much to overcome. The Rams (18-6, A-10 9-2) have now won six consecutive games.
 
Senior Jordan Derkack and sophomore Amaël L'Etang each had 15 points to lead Dayton, while senior Javon Bennett had 13 and sophomore Bryce Heard had 10. L'Etang added a game-high 13 rebounds to register his third double-double of the season.

UD shot 36.9% (24-of-65) from the floor in the game, including 36.8% (7-of-19) from beyond the three-point line, while VCU shot 46.9% (30-of-64) overall and 33.3% (8-of-24) from beyond the arc. The Rams made 31-of-38 (81.6%) from the free-throw line, while the Flyers were 18-of-30 (60%). 

GAME RECAP
 
1st Half – VCU 50, Dayton 27

• Sophomore Amael L'Etang finished a layup to put Dayton on the board first after getting a stop on the defensive end.
• Senior Keonte Jones connected in the paint to give UD a 4-2 advantage at the 18:40 mark.
• Senior Jordan Derkack got to the line and went 1-for-2 to tie the score at 5-5.
• Freshman Sean Pouedet snapped a three-minute scoreless stretch with a triple, bringing the Flyers back within three at 11-8.
• Jones nailed a baby hook shot over a defender to make it a 15-7 game with 12:38 to go in the half.
• Redshirt sophomore Jaiun Simon converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make it a 17-13 score with 11:18 to go.
• A nifty reverse layup from senior Javon Bennett brought it back to a two-point game at 17-15.
• L'Etang knocked down a three to get the score back to a one-point contest at 19-18.
• After six straight points from the Rams, senior Jacob Conner connected on a triple to make the score 25-21.
• Bennett snapped a four-minute scoreless streak with a floater through contact, stopping a VCU 12-0 run.
• Derkack put in a pair of free throws to make it a 44-25 game.
• A put-back by L'Etang was the final bucket for the Flyers in the half

2nd Half – VCU 99, Dayton 73

• The Rams started where they left off, scoring two consecutive and-one plays to start the half before Derkack converted a steal to a dunk and made it a 56-29 game.
• L'Etang put in a layup to make it a 59-34 with 16:21 remaining.
• A layup by Bennett with 14:49 to go made it a 62-37 game.
• Freshman Damon Friery made a three-pointer with 9:08 remaining to make the score 78-52.
• L'Etang finished a put-back dunk with 6:08 to go make the deficit 81-58.
• Bennett knocked down a three to make the score 91- 69.
• A four-point play from sophomore Bryce Heard made it a 20-point game.
• VCU finished the game on a 6-0 run to bring the score to its final of 99-73.

 INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• 11 – free throw attempts for Jordan Derkack, his second consecutive game with 10+ free throw attempts
• 3 – double-doubles this season for Amaël L'Etang thanks to 15 points and 13 rebounds.
• 4 – steals for Javon Bennett to go along with 13 points
• 4 – points on one play by Bryce Heard, who used an and-one on a three-pointer to reach 10 points in the game
• 6 – points and rebounds for senior Keonte Jones.
• 14 – minutes played for freshman Damon Friery, who had five points and three rebounds in a career-high minutes played

 
UP NEXT
Dayton has over a week before its next game, returning to play at the Epicenter of College Basketball, UD Arena, on Sunday, Feb. 15 when it takes on Davidson at 4 p.m.