La Salle and Fordham are other bad losses in an up and down season
Flyers Fall To 12-8 and 8-7 In The Atlantic 10
PHILADELPHIA – The University of Dayton men’s basketball team lost in a high-scoring affair on Hawk Hill, dropping a 97-84 decision at Saint Joseph’s.
Dayton had five players in double figures, including three freshmen – R. J. Blakney had a career-high 15, Zimi Nwokeji had 13 and Mustapha Amzil had 11. Jalen Crutcher led the Flyers with 17 and Ibi Watson added 16.
Taylor Funk scored 36 for St. Joe’s and Ryan Daly added 25.
UD is now 12-8 on the season, and 8-7 in the Atlantic 10. SJU is 3-14 and 2-9.
GAME BREAKDOWN
1st Half: Saint Joseph’s 54, Dayton 38
· Saint Joseph’s scored the first six points of the game, and got its advantage to double-digits in the first four minutes of the game.
· The Hawks pushed it out to 17 (24-7) in the first six minutes.
· Dayton cut it to 10 (31-21) at the 10:36 mark, but SJU pushed it back to 17 twice more in the half.
· St. Joe’s made 10 threes compared to five for UD.
· The Flyers’ six turnovers led to eight points off turnovers for the Hawks.
· Dayton gave up 54 points in the first half after allowing just 53 in the entire game last Friday against Saint Louis.
2nd Half: Saint Joseph’s 97, Dayton 84
· UD began the half with a determined 11-3 start to make get the deficit under 10 (57-49) at the 16:51 mark.
· Dayton got it to a one-possession game with 13:16 to go when an R.J. Blakney trey made it 62-59.
· But Saint Joseph’s re-grouped and doubled up the Flyers (36-18) in the next 11 minutes
· During that run, the Hawks went 6-for-11 from three-point range, and also and all six free throws after getting fouled on two three-point attempts.
BY THE NUMBERS
· R.J. Blakney’s 15 points came on 6-for-7 shooting from the field (3-4 from 3-pt.)
· Zimi Nwokeji’s 13 points came on 5-for-8 shooting, while Mustapha Amzil’s 11 was after he made four of six field goal attempts.
· For the game, the Flyers shot .525 (32-61) from the floor.
· Amzil led was the game’s high rebounder with nine.
· Dayton out-rebounded St. Joe’s 31-29, but the Hawks’ eight offensive rebounds led to 18 second-chance points.
· UD came into the game top-three in the A-10 in 3-pt. FG% defense, allowing .304, but the Hawks shot .426 (18-42).
· Five of Dayton’s seven losses are to teams below them in the standings.
UP NEXT
· The Flyers will end the regular season on Monday, March 1 at St. Bonaventure.
· Game time is TBA, but it is expected to be either 5 p.m. or 7 p.m. ET.
COURTESY DAYTON MEDIA RELATIONS
